In the 1899 case American Express Company v. Michigan, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of American Express. The state of Michigan had imposed a tax on all corporations doing business within its borders, and this included out-of-state companies like American Express that were conducting operations in Michigan. The company challenged this taxation as unconstitutional under both the Due Process Clause and Commerce Clause of the U.S Constitution. In their decision, however, justices held that while states cannot interfere with interstate commerce directly through regulation or taxation (as per Commerce clause), they can impose taxes on activities conducted within their jurisdiction if those activities are sufficiently separate from interstate commerce itself - which was found to be true for certain aspects of American Express's operations in Michigan.

The dissenting opinion in the case of American Express Company v. Michigan argued that the state tax imposed on express companies was unconstitutional because it violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The justice contended that this tax, which was based on gross receipts from interstate commerce, directly burdened interstate commerce and therefore infringed upon federal jurisdiction. He further maintained that such a tax could potentially lead to multiple taxation by different states on the same entity or transaction, thereby creating an undue burden on interstate commerce. This view held that only Congress has authority over regulating and taxing interstate trade under its constitutional power to regulate commerce among several states.