The heart of the taxation argument, Hughes finally concluded, rested on the contention that the business would automatically pass the cost of the tax on to the federal government, thus hindering the government in the provision of goods and services.James v. Dravo Contracting Co., 302 U.S. 134, 159. That assumption is false, Hughes asserted, and furthermore the Dravo Contracting had already stipulated that it had not done so in the instant case (nor had it passed on the cost of property, unemployment, or other taxes—even though it knew about them ahead of time).James v. Dravo Contracting Co., 302 U.S. 134, 159-160.
