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Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687 (1966)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687 (1966)
Commissioner v. Tellier No. 351 Argued January 27, 1966 Decided March 24, 1966 383 U.S. 687
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Respondent securities dealer was tried and found guilty of violating the Securities Act of 1933, the mail fraud statute, and of conspiring to violate those statutes. His conviction was affirmed on appeal. He claimed a deduction on his income tax return for legal fees incurred in defending the prosecution. Although the Commissioner conceded that the fees were ordinary and necessary expenses of the respondent’s securities business within the meaning of 26 U.S.C. §162(a), and therefore deductible under the literal requirements of that section, he disallowed the deduction on the ground of public policy. The Tax Court sustained his position, but was reversed by the Court of Appeals.
Held:
1. The federal income tax is a tax on net income, and is not a sanction against wrongdoing. P. 691.
2. Deductions of expenses encompassed by §162(a), in the absence of specific legislation, are disallowed only where their allowance would severely and immediately frustrate sharply defined national or state policies proscribing particular forms of conduct. Pp. 693-694.
3. Where, as here, an accused exercises his constitutional right to employ counsel to defend against criminal charges, there is no offense to public policy, and deduction of the expenses of his defense is proper. Pp. 694-695.
342 F.2d 690, affirmed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687 (1966) in 383 U.S. 687 383 U.S. 688. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8HN4A1SIAIYI2YS.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687 (1966), in 383 U.S. 687, page 383 U.S. 688. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8HN4A1SIAIYI2YS.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Commissioner v. Tellier, 383 U.S. 687 (1966). cited in 1966, 383 U.S. 687, pp.383 U.S. 688. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8HN4A1SIAIYI2YS.
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