Iselin v. United States, 270 U.S. 245 (1926)

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Iselin v. United States

No. 119

Argued January 12, 1926
Decided March 1, 1926
270 U.S. 245

APPEAL FROM THE COURT OF CLAIMS

Syllabus

1. Par. 3 of § 800(a) of Revenue Act of 1918, laying taxes on theater and opera tickets sold at newstands, hotels, etc., for more than the "established price" at the ticket office of the theater or opera house, held inapplicable to sale by a stockholder of box tickets, issued as an incident of his investment in an opera house company, which were not sold at the box-office and for which there was no established price. P. 247.

2. A statute imposing taxes with particularity, and in plain, unambiguous language, cannot be enlarged by construction to cover other cases omitted through presumable inadvertence of the legislature. P. 250.

3. An administrative practice which enlarges the scope of an unambiguous statute, and which is neither uniform, general, nor long continued, cannot be given legal force or effect, nor be accepted as a reason why subsequent reenactment of the statute without change should be taken as a legislative interpretation of its original meaning as justifying such practice. P. 251.

59 Ct.Cls. 654 reversed.

Appeal from a judgment of the Court of Claims rejecting a claim for money paid by Georgine Iselin, under protest, as a tax on receipts from sale of admissions to an opera box.