Wiley Blount Rutledge

“ Only a few of them place unemployment benefits at the top. [35] Depending therefore upon the number and the amounts of claims standing ahead of the unemployment benefit claims in the particular state would be the certainty or probability of payment of the latter. In short, reversing our decisions and conceding the validity of the state's position, either as to Title 9 taxes alone or as to all federal taxes, would give no definite and certain assurance that the funds thus acquired by the states would go to satisfy the Act's purposes. ”

“ In some they are of greater weight.
It follows that Massachusetts and Illinois have not shown the clear inconsistency between the Act's explicit terms and our previous decisions, on the one hand, and achieving the Act's purposes, on the other, which is necessary to make out a case for reversal and thus for negating the force of Rev.Stat. § 3466 as creating federal priorities for Title 9 or other federal tax claims. The Illinois decisions were advisedly made, after full deliberation. There was no dissent on the basic question of priority, even though the issue seemed close. ”

“ Section 904 established a federal employment account in the United States Treasury, and appropriated the excess of Title 9 taxes over unemployment administrative expenses to such account. Section 1201 authorized loans from such account to the states for unemployment insurance payments when a state's unemployment insurance fund becomes dangerously low, repayment of such advances not being required unless the state fund regains stable condition. ”

“ Then the taxpayer could apply the amount received in further payment of the state claim, with corresponding federal credit, overpayment and refund, only to start the cycle again and repeat it until he had paid the state its claim in full and received the entire 90 per cent credit. [22] Hence in this situation, it is said, short-cut distribution might well be made to the state in the first place, to eliminate the cycle.
The effect of the concession, if it is valid, goes for toward cutting the ground from beneath the Government's basic position. ”

“ In the absence of any explicit or clearly implied direction we do not believe that Congress intended to require that the state's claim for unemployment contributions take precedence over all other debts of the insolvent or to authorize us to make this a condition of allowing payment to the state to be made from his estate. ”

“ But the Illinois court held § 602 (a) also inapplicable on the facts and denied the 81 per cent credit because the assets were in the hands of a common-law assignee, not in the custody or control of a court-appointed receiver or other official as the section required for the credit to be available. ”

“ Atlantic Ins. Co. of New York, 1 Pet. 386, 7 L.Ed. 189; Brent v. Bank of Washington, 10 Pet. 596, 611, 9 L.Ed. 547; see Savings & Loan Soc. v. Multnomah County, 169 U.S. 421, 428, 18 S.Ct. 392, 395, 42 L.Ed. 803; cf. United States v. Fisher, 2 Cranch 358, 2 L.Ed. 304; United States v. Hooe, 3 Cranch 73, 2 L.Ed. 370. The Court has been loath to expand these exceptions, cf. ”