In the 1906 case of Buck v. Beach, Treasurer of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over property tax assessments. The plaintiff, Buck, argued that his property was assessed at a higher value than other similar properties in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. He claimed this resulted in him paying more taxes than he should have been required to pay and sought reimbursement for these alleged overpayments from the defendant county treasurer. However, the court ruled against Buck stating that while there may be irregularities or errors in assessment procedures which could result in unequal taxation among similarly situated taxpayers; such discrepancies did not necessarily constitute an intentional discrimination by state officials nor violate constitutional rights under equal protection clause unless it is proven beyond reasonable doubt.

In the dissenting opinion for Buck v. Beach, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax on inheritances violated constitutional principles of uniformity and equality in taxation. The dissenting justices contended that the law unfairly imposed different rates of taxation based on familial relationships between decedents and beneficiaries, which they believed had no rational basis or relevance to public policy objectives. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of inheritance as a privilege granted by state law rather than a natural right protected under common law traditions. Furthermore, they expressed concerns about potential abuses of legislative power if such discriminatory forms of taxation were permitted without clear justification or limitations.