Swartz v. Atkins’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 district · 22 state decisions

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

1. “The Combustion Engineering decision is a rough one on the taxpayer, since his delinquencies apparently arose through no intent to evade on his part. However, Swartz makes it clear that where the penalty for delinquencies is not based on the larger one for fraud, it was the intention of the legislature to apply the smaller penalty to anyone who failed to make a return and pay his tax within the time set by the taxing statute. An intent to evade is not a condition precedent to the imposition of such penalty. Combustion’s penalties were not based on fraud and thus required no intent to evade. Moreover, the Combustion delinquencies were in no way the fault of the Tennessee Department of Revenue; they were solely the fault of the employees or independent contractors hired by the taxpayer to compute the amount of the tax. To have held that mistakes thus caused would be an adequate basis for relieving against the penalties would have opened up a Pandora’s box of troubles for the revenue department. If delinquencies caused by mistakes of the taxpayer’s employees or those under the control of the taxpayer, would relieve taxpayer from the penalties, it would, to a large extent, nullify the penalty provision of the statute. In most delinquency cases, no doubt the unfortunate taxpayer could discover some sort of a mistake that gave rise to the delinquency.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Tidwell v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

2. ““In the cafe before us what are the equities? The only equities are the want of knowledge or acquaintance with the laws of this State insofar as they are applied to the duty of this taxpayer to make a return and pay the taxes. This taxpayer was familiar with the sales tax law and he avers that he had been paying sales taxes on time. By reading a little further or upon consulting counsel it would have been found by him, with the greatest of ease, that the taxes were due when he placed his machines on location as he did herein. If the complaint or reason advanced by the taxpayer of ignorance would be sufficient to excuse the payment of this tax demanded then every taxpayer could very easily use the same excuse and honestly do so. All he would have to do would be to fail to read the papers of the Acts or to consult his counsel or to talk to individuals then he could say that he was honestly unaware that there was a tax on this or that act. The law does not recognize such an excuse as an equity in favor of relieving a taxpayer of his obligation when by the slightest investigation or inquiry these things, that is taxes, could have been determined.” 204 Tenn. at 28 , 315 S.W.2d at 395 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Cities Service Co. v. Tidwell

3. “(A) penalty is attached regardless of the willfullness of it, but this does not relieve, or have anything to do with the powers of a court of equity which may relieve, of those penalties if the equities of the situation demand.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Tidwell v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company