Tax Law Commons^™

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law--Due Process of Law--Constitutionality of the Federal Youth Corrections Act in Its Application to Youthful Criminal Offenders

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Constitutional Law--Legislative Power--Infringement of Constitutional Guaranties by Demands of Legislative Investigating Committees for the Production of Membership Lists

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Courts--Process--Immunity of Nonresident Defendants in Federal Criminal Actions from Service of State Civil Process

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Damages--Installment Verdict in Tort Action

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Domestic Relations--Separation--Suit by Mentally Incompetent Wife

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Interstate Commerce--Hobbs Act--"Robbery" Provision Construed as Requiring Proof of Common Law Elements of Offense

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Taxation--Income--Determination of "Useful Life" of a Business Asset for Purposes of Depreciation

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Taxation--Income--Full Payment of Tax Deficiency as …

Constitutional Uniformity And Equality In State Taxation, Wade J. Newhouse

Michigan Legal Studies Series

The method of approach and arrangement of materials are developed during the course of the monograph. Therefore, it is not necessary to repeat them here. The purpose of the study is twofold. First, it should provide background material for constitutional revision. Second, it should aid counsel and court in deciding cases arising under existing constitutional limitations and state legislatures in drafting tax measures in such a way that pitfalls in existing limitations are avoided. The greater part of this monograph was prepared during a two year period from June 1951 to 1953, while I was a Research Assistant with the …

Church And State - Taxation Of Religious Organizations - Benefits Granted By Federal And State Governments, Herbert H. Brown, Joseph J. Mahon Jr.

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law - Intergovernmental Tax Immunities - Erosion Of Distinction Between Taxation Of Property And Of Privilege, Barry L. Kroll S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff Murray Corporation, a manufacturer of airplane parts for the federal government, was assessed a tax by the city of Detroit under the General Property Tax Act of Michigan, based in part on the value of materials. which the corporation had in its possession. Legal title to these materials was in the federal government. The corporation paid the taxes under protest and sued for a refund, contending that the taxes infringed the federal government's immunity from state taxation to the extent the taxes were based on the value of government property. The district court entered judgment for Murray and the …

Constitutional Law--Taxation Of Interstate Commerce--Railroad Loop Traffic, D. L. Mcd.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—Registration Of Gasoline Stations, June A. Murray

Buffalo Law Review

People v. Faxlanger, 1 N. Y. 2d 393, 135 N. E. 2d 705 (1956).

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Notice Required To Validate Tax Foreclosure Of Property Of Known Mental Incompetent, Frank M. Lacey S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On May 8, 1952, the town of Somers instituted an action to foreclose a number of tax liens. One of these was upon the property owned by a person known in the community to be a mental incompetent, but who had not yet been so certified by a court. Notice was given to the incompetent taxpayer in compliance with the statute by mail, posting, and publication. When she failed to answer within the prescribed period, foreclosure was entered and a deed to her property delivered to the town. Five days later she was declared a person of unsound mind, and …

The Use Tax: Its Relationship To The Sales Tax, Eugene Greener Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

The use tax was conceived as a necessary supplement to the successful administration of the sales tax. With a use tax, in addition to a sales tax, legislators felt they had developed a taxing method that was symmetrical and complete.

Thus, if for some reason a sale at retail of tangible personal property escaped tax, "the use, the consumption, the distribution, and the storage [of the property would be taxed] after it has come to rest in this state and has become a part of the mass of property in this state."'

But as the poet Robert Burns intimated about …

Analysis Of Sales And Use Tax Exemptions -- With Comment As To More Uniform Applications, George D. Brabson

Vanderbilt Law Review

There are, generally speaking, three broad areas of exemption understatutes imposing sales and use taxes in the United States. These are:

(a) Exemptions arising out of the immunities of governmental agencies and instrumentalities, or out of the exercise of governmental functions (b) Exemptions arising under the commerce clause of the federal constitution (c) Specific exemptions created out of governmental taxing policies or social economic considerations

Each of these areas of exemption has grown up somewhat haphazardly over a substantial period of time, and very largely as the result of shifting judicial opinion, rather than as a matter of consistent legislative …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Punitive Damages And Recovered "Insider's Profits" Taxable As Income, Alice Austin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In previous litigation one of the defendant taxpayers received punitive damages for fraud practiced upon it and both received treble damages for injuries to business caused by conduct in violation of the federal antitrust laws. The court of appeals affirmed the Tax Court's rulings that these receipts were not taxable as gross income. On certiorari to the Supreme Court, held, reversed. Money received as punitive awards is includible in gross income under section 22 (a), I.R.C. (1939). Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. and William Goldman Theatres, Inc., 348 U.S. 426, 75 S.Ct. 473 (1955).

Municipal Power To Tax -- Its Constitutional Limitations, Chester J. Antieau

Vanderbilt Law Review

Throughout the United States a great many municipalities have found that in recent years their revenue from taxes has not kept up with their expenses. While inflation spiralled municipal costs, while demands for municipal services increased terrifically during the last few" decades, and while financial burdens, such as the three-platoon fire department, were readily imposed upon the municipal corporations by the state legislatures, the tax bases available to municipalities were too often insufficient to meet the expanding local requirements. Older taxes, such as the tax upon real property, have proved more and more inadequate as residents moved beyond city limits, …

Constitutional Law - Federal Immunity From State Taxation - Validity Of State Sales Tax Upon Purchases And Sales By National Banks, Julius B. Poppinga

Michigan Law Review

The 1949 revision of the Michigan Sales Tax Act changed the federal exemption provision so as to permit taxation of sales to corporations acting as agents or instrumentalities of the federal government but not wholly owned by the United States. Accordingly, defendant department of revenue took the position that sales to plaintiff, a national banking institution organized under the National Banking Act, are taxable. In the course of its operations, plaintiff purchases office equipment and other tangible personal property from Michigan. retailers. It also sells food and services to employees through its cafeteria, and sells repossessed merchandise to other parties. …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Corporate Accumulations, Stock Dividends And The "Preferred Stock Bail-Out," And Taxability Of The Corporation Upon The Distribution Of "Inventory Assets" Under The Internal Revenue Code Of 1954, Alice Austin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this discussion to indicate, with respect to corporate accumulations and distributions, some of the major interpretative problems existing under the 1939 code which Congress has failed to resolve, as well as some of the major interpretative difficulties which arise for the first time under the 1954 code.

Obligations Of A State-Created Authority: Do They Constitute A Debt Of The State, Elizabeth Gaspar Brown

Michigan Law Review

Although provisions in a number of state constitutions limit the amount of debt a state may incur state legislatures frequently have attempted to circumvent such limitations. Recent decades have seen increased use of the "authority," set up by the legislature to accomplish a particular objective and given power to issue evidences of indebtedness to finance the objective, repayment to come from the revenues of the authority, with the declaration that the obligations of the authority are not those of the state. The enabling legislation has been challenged as unconstitutional, often on the ground that the obligations of the authority are …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Enforced Collection Of State Use Tax From Nonresident Vendor, John Leddy S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Appellant is a Delaware corporation engaging in the retail furniture business in Delaware. It has no place of business in Maryland, nor does it solicit orders in that state. It does not accept mail or phone orders from Maryland, nor does it advertise in any Maryland publications. The only contacts which the appellant has with Maryland customers, aside from direct dealings at appellant's retail store, are occasional direct mail advertisements, which it sends to all of its customers wherever located, and deliveries of goods purchased by Maryland customers. These deliveries are either made by commercial carrier or by appellant's own …

Jacobs: Law Writers And The Courts, Richard. A. Edwards

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Law Writers and the Courts. By Clyde E. Jacobs

Evidence-Presumtions-Alabama Statute Making Compliance With Federal Wagering Tax Law Prima Facie Evidence Of Violation Of State Gambling Law, John C. Hall S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1953 the Alabama legislature, taking advantage of the federal occupational tax on professional gamblers, enacted legislation making possession of the federal wagering tax stamp prima facie evidence of violation of the state gambling laws.

Constitutional Law - Congressional Powers - Validity Of The 1951 Gamblers' Occupation Tax Act, James W. Callison S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The Revenue Act of 1951 levied a tax on persons engaged in the business of accepting wagers, requiring such persons to register their names and places of business and residence with the Collector of Internal Revenue. The act also required the disclosure of the name and address of each person receiving wagers for the registrant, or, if the registrant himself received wagers for another, the name of that person. Violations of the act were punishable by fine and imprisonment. Defendant was indicted for willful failure to register and pay the tax. The district court granted defendant's motion to dismiss on …

Notes, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

The information given in the notes is derived from inspection of the books, publishers' literature, and the ordinary library sources.

Constitutional Law, Paul H. Sanders

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Supreme Court of Tennessee has been faced with few major Constitutional Law problems during the period under consideration. Statistically, the action of the Court in invalidating one law out of almost a score that were attacked before it on the basis of constitutional defect suggests an attitude of judicial restraint toward the product of a coordinate branch of government. The relatively small number of constitutional questions raised-- and many of them were obviously make-weight rather than points of principal reliance-- suggests a general awareness of the Court's stability and the unlikelihood of its departing from established precedent. Similarly, regard …

Constitutional Law-Relation Between State And Federal Governments, J. David Voss

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiffs, employees of a United States Naval Ordnance Plant located in an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction within the State of Kentucky, sued in a state court for a declaratory judgment that a license tax on the privilege of working in the City of Louisville, measured by a percentage of all salaries, wages and commissions earned within the city, was not applicable to them. Defendants' demurrer was overruled, and the collection of the tax enjoined. The Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed, and judgment was entered for the defendants. The court of appeals affirmed. On appeal to the United States Supreme …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Recent Cases

Adverse Possession--Statutes--May One Acquire an Indefeasible Life Estate under Tennessee Code Section 8582

Constitutional Law--Freedom of the Press--Effect of City Ordinance Prohibiting Solicitation of Magazine Subscriptions without Prior Consent of Person Solicited

Constitutional Law--Statutes--Requirement of Loyalty Oath as Valid Exercise of Police Power

Contracts--Procurement of Government Contracts on Contingent Fee Basis--Effect of Executive Order

Criminal Law--Mens Rea--Requirement in Action for Converting Government Property--Necessity for Criminal Intent

Damages--Injury to Child--Expenses of Parent in Attending Child

Divorce--Determination of Place Where Abandonment Occurs--Effect of Residence Requirement for Bringing Action

Domestic Relations--Legitimation Statute--Interpretation and Effect

Evidence--Unreasonable Searches and Seizures--Admissibility of Evidence Obtained …

Recent Cases, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW--RACIAL RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS--ALLOWANCE OF DAMAGES FOR BREACH

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CORPORATIONS--PARENT AND SUBSIDIARY--SUBSIDIARY AS INSTRUMENTALITY OF PARENT WHEN USED TO CARRY ON UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

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EVIDENCE--ADMISSIBILITY OF CONFESSION--SCOPE OF REVIEW OF COURT-MARTIAL BY COURT OF MILITARY APPEALS

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EVIDENCE--CONFLICT OF LAWS--APPLICATION OF DOCTRINE OF RES IPSA LOQUITUR

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EVIDENCE--DUE PROCESS--USE IN STATE PROSECUTION OF EVIDENCE FORCIBLY OBTAINED BY STOMACH PUMP

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EVIDENCE--ENTRIES IN THE REGULAR COURSE OF BUSINESS--TEST FOR EXTENT OF ADMISSIBILITY UNDER FEDERAL JUDICIAL CODE

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EVIDENCE--HEARSAY--ADOPTION OF LIBERAL ADMISSION RULES OF ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS IN ANTITRUST COURT ACTION

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EVIDENCE--IMPEACHMENT OF ONE'S OWN WITNESS--USE OF PRIOR INCONSISTENT STATEMENTS

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Constitutional Law-Due Process-Freedom Of Expression- Commerce Clause-Clause-"Green River" Ordinance As Applied To Door To Door Solicitation For Magazine Subscriptions, C. E. Lombardi, Jr. S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In their famous article on the right of privacy, Warren and Brandeis noted that the common law protection of the right of privacy in the home was far more highly developed than the protection given to individual privacy in other respects. "The common law has always recognized a man's house as his castle, impregnable, often, even to its own officers engaged in the execution of its commands." The common law impregnability has met perhaps its stiffest test when those attacking it have sought constitutional protection. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Breard v. City of …

Constitutional Law--Import-Export Clause--Validity Of A State Gross Receipts Tax On Common Carriers Transporting Imports And Exports, Roger D. Anderson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The State of Maryland levied a nondiscriminatory gross receipts tax on revenues of common carriers operating within the state, apportioned on the basis of trackage within Maryland to trackage everywhere. Petitioners, who are common carriers operating within Maryland, objected to this tax to the extent that it constituted a tax on gross receipts derived from transporting imports and exports on the grounds that it violated the import-export clause. The court of appeals of Maryland declared the tax valid. On appeal, held, affirmed. Where the tax is on an activity connected with the import or export of goods, rather than …

Some Problems In Federal Question Jurisdiction, George B. Fraser, Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Congress has given the federal district courts original and removal jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution or laws of the United States, but the power of these courts to hear such cases has been restricted by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court holds that the district courts have jurisdiction of a case if a federal question is raised in the complaint, but jurisdiction cannot be based on a federal question in the answer. This means that the district courts are closed to many cases that involve a substantial federal issue, while many cases …

Construction Workers In Interstate Transportation, H. L. S. Iii

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Function Of Constitutional Provisions Requiring Uniformity In Taxation: Part I--Introduction And Historical Origins, William L. Matthews Jr.

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Tennessee Retailers' Sales Tax Act, Stanely D. Rose

Vanderbilt Law Review

The primary consideration in the adoption of a tax by a state is the constitutional framework into which it is to be fitted. Probable litigation is a factor of importance in the choice of a tax. If there are no complicating factors, a simple tax on sales seems to be one of the forms of excise tax most easily sustainable under the Tennessee Constitution. Indeed, Tennessee at an early date had a sales tax which apparently met with court approval.

The most inclusive authority upon which to base an excise tax in Tennessee is the clause which states that "the …

Constitutionality Of Additional Assessments Necessitated By The Delinquency Of Some Land Owners In A Special Assessment District, Thomas A. Thomas

Vanderbilt Law Review

Most states have constitutional provisions requiring expressly or in effect, equality and uniformity of taxation. Under these constitutional requirements, it is usually held that the legislatures acting under their general taxing power, are not prohibited from making geographical classifications for purposes of taxation so long as they are reasonable and based upon a substantial distinction. However, the equality and uniformity provisions do require that all members of the same class be taxed alike. This limitation does not require meticulous adjustments to avoid incidental hardships upon some member of the same class, but requires only substantial uniformity. Since special assessments are …