Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co.

Child Labor Tax Case No. 657, Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co. Citation 259 U.S. 20 (1922). The case was argued March 8, 1922, and decided on May 15, 1922. This case asks the question of the constitutional amendment of the Child Labor Tax Law. Drexel Furniture Co., the plaintiff, was a manufacture of furniture in the Western District of North Carolina. On the day of September 20, 1921, Drexel received a notice from Bailey. Bailey was the United States collector of internal revenue for the district. Drexel had been charged $6312.79 in 1919 due to the fact that he had employed or allowed a boy less than 14 years of age to work in his factory. Along with that he was charged an extra ten percent on its profit for that year. Drexel paid the tax under protest, after asking for a refund, they brought this suit.
Congress enacted the Revenue Act of 1919, also known as the Child Labor Tax Law, to exercise the taxing power of congress. With this law, companies that have employed and childre...