Better Business Bureau of Washington, D. C., Inc. v. United States’s Empirical Analysis
326 U.S. 279 · 1945
Citation profile
247 federal appellate · 44 district · 23 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 617 later decisions (1 by the Supreme Court) — most recently June 2024 · most notably Founding Church of Scientology v. United States (1969), C. F. Mueller Co. v. Commissioner (1951)
247 federal appellate · 44 district · 23 state decisions
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.
Appellate journey
reviewedBetter Business Bureau of Washington, D. C., Inc. v. United States (from District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals)
Relationships
Applies 26 U.S.C. § 101
Relies on Trinidad v. Sagrada Orden De Predicadores De La Provincia Del Santisimo Rosario De Filipinas · Helvering v. Bliss · White v. Winchester Country Club · Hassett v. Associated Hospital Service Corp.
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 617 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“[T]he presence of a single * * * [non-exempt] purpose, if substantial in nature, will destroy the exemption regardless of the number or importance of truly * * * [exempt] purposes.”
41 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority“* ifc * $ )£ “(o) [As amended by Section 224(a) of the Revenue Act of 1939, c. 247, 53 Stat. 862 ] Charitable and other contributions. “In the case of an individual, contributions or gifts payment of which is made within the taxable year to or for the use of: * * * * * “(2) A corporation, trust, or community chest, fund, or foundation, created or organized in the United States or in any possession thereof or under the faw of the United States or of any State or Territory or of any possession of the United States, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation; * *”
6 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority““Even the most liberal of constructions does not mean that statutory words and phrases are to be given unusual or tortured meanings unjustified by legislative intent or that express limitations on such an exemption are to be ignored.””
6 later decisions 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.