William J. Brennan, Jr.

“ That payments by an employer to an employee, even though voluntary, ought, by and large, to be taxable; that the concept of a gift is inconsistent with a payment's being a deductible business expense; that a gift involves 'personal' elements; that a business corporation cannot properly make a gift of its assets. ”

“ The nontechnical nature of the statutory standard, the close relationship of it to the date of practical human experience, and the multiplicity of relevant factual elements, with their various combinations, creating the necessity of ascribing the proper force to each, confirm us in our conclusion that primary weight in this area must be given to the conclusions of the trier of fact. ”

“ We think, to the extent they are correct, that these propositions are not principles of law but rather maxims of experience that the tribunals which have tried the facts of cases in this area have enunciated in explaining their factual determinations. Some of them simply represent truisms: it doubtless is, statistically speaking, the exceptional payment by an employer to an employee that amounts to a gift. ”

“ Doubtless diversity of result will tend to be lessened somewhat since federal income tax decisions, even those in tribunals of first instance turning on issues of fact, tend to be reported, and since there may be a natural tendency of professional triers of fact to follow one another's determinations, even as to factual matters. ”

“ The exclusion of property acquired by gift from gross income under the federal income tax laws was made in the first income tax statute [4] passed under the authority of the Sixteenth Amendment, and has been a feature of the income tax statutes ever since. The meaning of the term 'gift' as applied to particular transfers has always been a matter of contention. ”

“ Such conclusory, general findings do not constitute compliance with Rule 52's direction to 'find the facts specially and state separately * * * conclusions of law thereon.' While the standard of law in this area is not a complex one, we four think the unelaborated finding of ultimate fact here cannot stand as a fulfillment of these requirements. It affords the reviewing court not the semblance of an indication of the legal standard with which the trier of fact has approached his task. ”

“ As to them we see little distinction between the views of the Court and those taken in dissent in Bogardus. The fear expressed by the dissent at 302 U.S. at page 44, 58 S.Ct. at page 66, that the prevailing opinion 'seems' to hold 'that every payment which in any aspect is a gift is * * * relieved of any tax' strikes us now as going beyond what the opinion of the Court held in fact. In any event, the Court's opinion in Bogardus does not seem to have been so interpreted afterwards. ”

“ The principal difference, as we see it, between the Court's opinion and the dissent lies in the weight to be given the findings of the trier of fact.↑ Justice Cardozo once described in memorable language the inquiry into whether an expense was an 'ordinary and necessary' one of a business: 'One struggles in vain for any verbal formula that will supply a ready touchstone. ”

“ They present situations in which payments have been made in a context with business overtones-an employer making a payment to a retiring employee; a businessman giving something of value to another businessman who has been of advantage to him in his business. ”

“ While the judgment of the Court of Appeals cannot stand, the four of us think there must be further proceedings in the District Court looking toward new and adequate findings of fact. In this, we are joined by Mr. Justice WHITTAKER, who agrees that the findings were inadequate, although he does not concur generally in this opinion. ”

“ No. 546, Stanton v. United States. The taxpayer, Stanton, had been for approximately 10 years in the employ of Trinity Church in New York City. He was comptroller of the Church corporation, and president of a corporation, Trinity Operating Company, the church set up as a fully owned subsidiary to manage its real estate holdings, which were more extensive than simply the church property. His salary by the end of his employment there in 1942 amounted to $22,500 a year. ”

“ 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.' Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115, 54 S.Ct. 8, 9, 78 L.Ed. 212. The same comment well fits the issue in the cases at bar.↑ Cf., e.g., Nelson v. Commissioner, 6 Cir., 203 F.2d 1.↑ In Bogardus, the Court was divided 5 to 4 as to the scope of review to be extended the fact-finder's determination as to a specific receipt, in a context like that of the instant cases. ”