Buckwalter v. Commissioner’s Empirical Analysis
61 F.2d 571 · 1932
Citation profile
4
cited by 4 later decisions
December 1946
most recently cited
2 federal appellate ·
Relationships
Applies 26 U.S.C. § 955
Relies on Refling v. Burnet · Owens v. Battenfield · Ames v. Commissioner
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.
““In 1931 the petitioner sold a property known as the Weston Winery for substantially less than it had cost him. Whether the sale resulted in profit or loss for income tax purposes is the matter in dispute, and this turns on whether the cost of the property should be diminished by deductions for depreciation .for the years 1922 to 1931, during which the petitioner had no tenant for it and did not operate it himself. Specifically, the question is whether the property was ‘used in the trade or business’ of the taxpayer within the meaning of section 23 (k) of the Revenue Act of 1928 ( 45 Stat. 799,800 [ 26 U.S.C.A. § 23 (Z)]) and the similar provision of prior revenue acts * * *. Whether deductions for depreciation during the years in question were ‘allowable’ depends upon the meaning of section 23 (k) of the 1928 Act ( 45 Stat. 799,800 ) and the similar provision in the prior applicable acts. Section 23 (k) allows deduction from gross income of ‘A reasonable allowance for the exhaustion, wear and tear of property used in the trade or business, including a reasonable allowance for obsolescence.’ * * * To read the phrase ‘used in the trade or business’ as meaning only active employment of property devoted to the business would lead to results which we cannot believe Congress intended. For example, one factory of a large industrial plant may lie idle for a year, and in fact suffer depreciation as great, or greater, than that sustained by the factories in operation. To allow no depr”
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.