Benjamin N. Cardozo

Name: Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court
Author: Benjamin N. Cardozo

Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

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“Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court”, is a work by Benjamin N. Cardozo. It explores elements such as payments, expense and income.

Quotes from Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court (Benjamin N. Cardozo)

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ One man has a family name that is clouded by thefts committed by an ancestor. To add to this own standing he repays the stolen money, wiping off, it may be, his income for the year. The payments figure in his tax return as ordinary expenses. Another man conceives the notion that he will be able to practice his vocation with greater ease and profit if he has an opportunity to enrich his culture. Forthwith the price of his education becomes an expense of the business, reducing the income subject to taxation. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ Ordinary in this context does not mean that the payments must be habitual or normal in the sense that the same taxpayer will have to make them often. A lawsuit affecting the safety of a business may happen once in a lifetime. The counsel fees may be so heavy that repetition is unlikely. None the less, the expense is an ordinary one because we know from experience that payments for such a purpose, whether the amount is large or small, are the common and accepted means of defense against attack. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ One struggles in vain for any verbal formula that will supply a ready touchstone. The standard set up by the statute is not a rule of law; it is rather a way of life. Life in all its fullness must supply the answer to the riddle.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue resorted to that standard in assessing the petitioner's income, and found that the payments in controversy came closer to capital outlays than to ordinary and necessary expenses in the operation of a business. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ The question to be determined is whether payments by a taxpayer, who is in business as a commission agent, are allowable deductions in the computation of his income if made to the creditors of a bankrupt corporation in an endeavor to strengthen his own standing and credit. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ Unless we can say from facts within our knowledge that these are ordinary and necessary expenses according to the ways of conduct and the forms of speech prevailing in the business world, the tax must be confirmed. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ Men do at times pay the debts of others without legal obligation or the lighter obligation imposed by the usages of trade or by neighborly amendities, but they do not do so ordinarily, not even though the result might be to heighten their reputation for generosity and opulence. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ The situation is unique in the life of the individual affected, but not in the life of the group, the community, of which he is a part. At such times there are norms of conduct that help to stabilize our judgment, and make it certain and objective. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Benjamin N. Cardozo, Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court

“ Lucas (C.C.A.) 48 F. (2d) 187, payments of debts discharged in bankruptcy, but subject to be revived by force of a new promise. Cf. Lucas v. Ox Fibre Brush Co., 281 U.S. 115, 50 S.Ct. 273, 74 L.Ed. 733, where additional compensation, reasonable in amount, was allowed to the officers of a corporation for services previously rendered. Not ordinary expenses: Hubinger v. Commissioner (C.C.A.) 36 F. (2d) 724, payments by the taxpayer for the repair of fire damage, such payments being distinguished from those for wear and tear; Lloyd v. ”

Benjamin N. Cardozo

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Quotes from Welch v. Helvering — Opinion of the Court (Benjamin N. Cardozo)

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