McCulloch v. Maryland was a critical decision made by the Supreme Court in 1819. The case concerned a Maryland state tax imposed on bank notes chartered outside Maryland.The tax was an attempt to restrict the Second Bank of the United States, a national bank chartered by members of Congress, whose head, James McCulloch, filed suit in response to the tax. The court found in favor of McCulloch, stating that a bank is a "proper and suitable instrument" in Congress's function to spend funds and impose taxes and ordered the tax repealed. Although originally concerning a bank, the consequences of the holding extended further. By the holding, Chief Justice John Marshall set a precedent for what are now two fundamental principles of U.S. law concerning national government: that Congress possesses implied powers by the Constitution that allow the federal government to governeffectively, and that federal law supersedes state law.