Thus, even though the tax laws in question had been declared unconstitutional, the taxpayers effectively did not receive any repayments; rather, the amounts due back to them from the States were taxed by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth would then repay these amounts to the States, with the result that the States were not in any financial disadvantage.
Even though the challenged tax laws were deemed unconstitutional, taxpayers didn't get their money back. Instead, the amount owed to them by the states was taxed by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth then repaid those amounts to the states, leaving the states financially unaffected.