Silberman v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate ·

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

1. “It is true that if petitioner had realized income or gains from his illegal gambling transactions such gain would be subject to income tax because of the broad definition of gross income set forth in section 22 (a), which covers gains or profits and income derived from any source whatever. United States v. Sullivan, 274 U. S. 259 ; United States v. Yugvnovich, 256 U. S. 450 ; Steinberg v. United States. 14 Fed. (2d) 564. In spite of the seeming inconsistency, even though income derived from an illegal business is subject to tax, expenditures made in the carrying on of activities which in themselves are in contravention of law and illegal have been held to be not deductible as business expenses on grounds of .public policy. Great Northern Railway Co. v. Commissioner, 40 Fed. (2d) 372; certiorari denied, 282 U. S. 855 . In that ease expenditures for the payment of fines for violating Federal statutes were said to have been made as a result of unlawful operations, prohibited specifically by statutes, and the court said, “It cannot be that Congress intended the carrier should have the advantage, directly or indirectly, of any reduction, directly or indirectly, of these penalties.” Of course, the Great Northern case differs from this case, principally because'the business of the taxpayer was a legal business in general and the infractions of law involved were only incidents in the conduct of business which generally was conducted in a lawful way. Here there are stronger reasons fr”

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