Smith v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

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 4 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “(a) Residents. — In the case of a citizen or resident— * * * * * * * (3) Giet to spouse [as added by section 372 of the Revenue Act of 1948, enacted April 2, 1948],— ******* (E) Trust with Power of Appointment in Donee Spouse. — Where the donor transfers in trust an interest in property, if under the terms of the trust his spouse is entitled for life to all the income from the corpus of the trust, payable annually or at more frequent intervals, with power in the donee spouse to appoint the entire corpus free of the trust (exercisable in favor of such donee, spouse, or of the estate of such donee spouse, or in favor of either, whether or not in each case the power is exercisable in favor of others), and with no power in any other person to appoint any part of the corpus to any person other than the donee spouse— (i) the interest so transferred in trust shall, for the purposes of subparagraph (A), be considered as transferred to the donee spouse, and (ii) no part of the interest so transferred in trust shall, for the purposes of sub-paragraph (B) (i), be considered as retained in the donor or transferred to any person other than the donee spouse. This subparagraph shall be applicable only if, under the terms of the trust, such power in the donee spouse to appoint the corpus, whether exercisable by will or during life, is exercisable by such spouse alone and in all events.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Halsted v. Commissioner

2. “There is no provision in the trust deed giving the settlor’s wife the right to compel the trustee to convert the insurance policies into income-producing property. The tenor of the trust deed is that it was the settlor’s intention to have the policies retained by the trustee until his death, and to have such income as was received by way of dividends on the policies devoted to their preservation. The direction contained in subparagraph (b) of the trust deed’s paragraph First, respecting the payment of income, was without any substance and impossible of fulfillment, because the entire corpus was of non-income-producing property. Jesse S. Phillips, 12 T.C. 216, 223 ; Commissioner v. Boeing, 123 F. 2d 86 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Arents v. Commissioner