Louis Brandeis

“ In affirming that judgment, the Circuit Court of Appeals said (88 F.2d 958, 959) : 'Any stockholder, including the appellees, should be and in our opinion is, entitled to an assessment by the Commissioner prior to imposition of tax liability upon him. The appellants would by implication add another method of imposing an assessment upon the stockholder, namely, by an action for contribution. It is not for the courts to extend the methods prescribed by Congress for imposing tax liability. ”

“ The right of a stockholder transferee to contribution arises under the general law and does not differ from that of any other person who has paid more than his fair share of a common burden. The right to sue for contribution does not depend upon a prior determination that the defendants are liable. ”

“ Whether they are liable is the matter to be decided in the suit. To recover a plaintiff must prove both that there was a common burden of debt and that he has, as between himself and the defendants, paid more than his fair share of the common obligations. [1] Every defendant may, of course, set up any defense personal to him.
Since the enactment of section 280, as before, a bill in equity against a stockholder transferee is a remedy available to the Commissioner to enforce the tax liability of the corporation. ”