In the 1906 case of Burt v. Smith, the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over land ownership in Utah. The plaintiff, Burt, claimed that he had acquired title to certain lands through purchase from individuals who had received patents for these lands from the US government under an act of Congress passed in 1862 (the Homestead Act). However, defendant Smith argued that those individuals did not have valid titles because they were members of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints (Mormon Church), which was disincorporated by another act of Congress in 1887 due to its practice of polygamy. This latter act also declared all property and assets belonging to this church as forfeited and escheated to the United States. The court ruled in favor of Burt stating that while it is true that some properties held by Mormons were confiscated under this law; however, it does not apply universally to all properties owned or previously owned by Mormons but only those specifically used for religious purposes or directly associated with promoting polygamy.

In the dissenting opinion for Burt v. Smith, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring corporations to pay an annual franchise tax based on their capital stock violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The dissent contended that this taxation scheme unfairly discriminated against out-of-state corporations by taxing them more heavily than in-state companies with similar amounts of property and business within the state. It also pointed out inconsistencies in how different types of businesses were taxed under this law, which further demonstrated its unfairness and unconstitutionality. Furthermore, they believed that such a tax could discourage foreign investment and hinder economic growth.