In National Bellas Hess v. Department of Revenue of Illinois, 386 U.S. 753 (1967), the Supreme Court ruled that a mail order reseller was not required to collect sales tax unless it had some physical contact with the state.

It owned no tangible property in Illinois and had no sales outlets, representatives, telephone listing, or solicitors in that state.

The opinion cited Miller Brothers Co. v. Maryland, 347 U.S. 340 (1954) In 1992, the Supreme Court in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992) issued an order overruling part of the case.

That case slightly distinguished itself from Bellas Hess by ruling that physical presence was not necessary for a state to impose a duty to collect under the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution, but physical presence was still necessary for a state's use tax on a foreign vendor under the Dormant Commerce Clause of the US Constitution.

The Supreme Court noted that in determining whether a state tax falls within the confines of the Due Process Clause, the North Dakota Supreme Court had said that due to rulings that were made after Bellas Hess, such as Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, the "relevant inquiry under the latter test was whether 'the state has provided some protection, opportunities, or benefit for which it can expect a return.'"