Smith v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis
168 F.2d 446 · 1948
Citation profile
21 federal appellate ·
How this case has been cited
Cited by 34 later decisions — most recently March 1971 · most notably Daine v. Commissioner (1948), Herbert v. Riddell (1952)
21 federal appellate ·
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Applies 26 U.S.C. § 22
Relies on United States v. American Trucking Associations · Daine v. Commissioner · Johnson v. . Johnson · Daine v. Commissioner · Stoddard v. . Stoddard
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 34 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
““The taxpayer claims deductions under § 23 (u) for the payments made to his wife under the separation agreement during the tax year in question. The allowance of the deductions turns on the question whether or not the payments were includible in the gross income of his wife under § 22(k). For if they were, then the taxpayer could rightly deduct such payments. Examining the single sentence quoted in footnote 1 (Section 22(k)) we find that there are three distinct and unclouded references to the requirement of some sort of judicial sanction for an alteration in the marital status in order that the payments be included in the wife’s gross income. Thus it is provided that the wife must be ‘divorced or legally separated from her husband under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance,’ So, too, the payments must have been ‘received subsequent to such decree.’ And finally, they must discharge an obligation ‘under a written instrument incident to such divorce or separation.’ Clearly, the use of ‘such’ in the last quoted phrase has reference to the prior language, namely, a separation resulting ‘under a decree * * of separate maintenance.’ It would be difficult, it seems, to find language more definite. Thus the periodic payments may be deducted only if made under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance. * * “ * * * The taxpayer’s wife was not legally separated from him under a decree of separate maintenance. The payments were not made subsequent to such decree. At no tim”
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““§ 22. Gross income. “(k) Alimony, etc., income. In the case of a wife who is divorced or legally separated from her husband under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance, periodic payments (whether or not made at regular Intervals received subsequent to such decree in discharge of, or attributable to property transferred (in trust or otherwise) in discharge of, a legal obligation which, because of the marital or family relationship, is imposed upon or incurred by such husband under such decree or under a written instrument incident to such divorce or separation shall be includible in the gross income of such wife, and such amounts received as are attributable to property so transferred shall not be includible in the gross income of such husband. * * * ” “§ 23. Deductions from gross income. In computing net income there shall be allowed as deductions: ****** “(u) Alimony, etc., payments. In the case of a husband described in section 22 (k), amounts includible under section 22(k) in the gross income of his wife, payment of which is made within the husband’s taxable year. If the amount of any such payment is, under section 22 (k) or section 171, stated to be not includible in such husband’s gross income, no deduction shall be allowed with respect to such payment under this subsection.””
4 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“Thus it is clear from the Committee’s Report [pertaining to said sections], as well as the express language of the statute, that the allowance of the deduction [under section 23 (u)] is dependent upon the existence of a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance. * * *”
1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.