John Levine wrote:

in case of out-of-state sales. The state lacks jurisdiction on out of
state sellers due to the federal constitution.

Hmmn. I gather you haven't read Quill v. North Dakota. Because that's
not what it says.

Sigh. Quill gives me a headache.

Bellas Hess was the 1967 case that seemed to put make a bright line
distinction on whether the business had adequate nexus by physical presence
in the state for the state to impose its taxation regime upon it.

John Paul Stevens wrote the opinion for the Court. The North Dakota
Supreme Court observed a number of federal cases in which federal courts
veered away from Bellas Hess and thought that the state could assert
nexus via other factors than physical presence. In this case, state
law recognized three advertising campaigns by mail per year as minimum
to assert nexus.

Stevens wrote that the court generally agreed with the state supreme
court but reversed it regardless because it wanted to leave the Bellas
Hess opinion intact.

Also, the Due Process clause applies in a confusing way.

So not exactly, John.

North Dakota found a constitutional way to force the seller to collect
a state tax without infringing on interstate commerce.