Weld 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 9 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Although it is undoubtedly true that the petitioner was ready to sell any of his investments when the market quotations would show him a satisfactory profit, the evidence does not show that these securities were held “primarily for sale in the course of” petitioner’s trade or business, or in fact that the petitioner individually had a trade or business of buying and selling securities. His purchases and sales were such as might be made by any investor or retired business man. Such a person would not ordinarily be regarded as engaged in a business of buying and selling securities. To regard the petitioner’s purchases and sales of securities as a trade or business within the contemplation of the statute does violence to the very language of the statute and to the purpose which Congress had in mind in providing for the taxing of gains from the sale of property held more than two years at the capital gain rate. That object was to facilitate sales of property which had been held for a long period and which had greatly appreciated in value. See Ways and Means Committee Report (p. 10) and Finance Committee Report (p. 12) on Revenue Act of 1921. * * * * * * # * * * We are of opinion that a professional man, such as a lawyer or a doctor, who invests his surplus income in the purchase of stocks or other property with an idea of sale at a future date at a profit is not ordinarily to be regarded as holding such shares primarily for sale in the course of his trade or business. We think th”

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

2. “We are of opinion that a professional man, such as a lawyer or a doctor, who invests his surplus income in the purchase of stocks or other property with an idea of sale at a future date at a profit is not ordinarily to be regarded as holding such shares primarily for sale in the course of his trade or business. We think that the same observation applies to the petitioner at bar. He was not engaged as an individual in a trade or business of buying and selling securities; consequently, he could not be regarded as holding them primarily for sale in the course of his trade or business.”

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