Hornthall v. The Collector was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of taxation. The case involved a dispute between the Collector of Internal Revenue and a man named Hornthall. Hornthall had been assessed a tax on the profits of a business he owned, and he argued that the tax was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Collector. The Court held that the tax was constitutional, and that the government had the right to impose taxes on the profits of businesses. The Court also held that the tax was not a violation of the Fifth Amendment, which protects citizens from being deprived of their property without due process of law. The decision in Hornthall v. The Collector established the principle that the government has the right to impose taxes on the profits of businesses. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since then, and it has been used to uphold the constitutionality of various taxes.

In Hornthall v. The Collector, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a tax imposed by Congress on distilled spirits was constitutional. Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion, arguing that Congress had exceeded its authority in imposing this tax and that it violated the Fifth Amendment's protection against taking private property for public use without just compensation. He argued that since distillers were required to pay an excise duty before they could sell their product, it constituted a taking of their property without due process of law or just compensation as guaranteed by the Constitution. Furthermore, he argued that if such taxes were allowed then there would be no limit to what kind of taxes Congress could impose on citizens and businesses in order to raise revenue for government purposes. In conclusion, Justice Field concluded that while taxation is necessary for funding government operations and services, it must be done within the bounds set forth by our founding fathers in order to protect individual rights from arbitrary governmental action.