William O. Douglas

“ If we were trained in the art and science of taxation, we might serve a useful function. But taxation is a specialty in which we have only sporadic and no continuous experience. It has been said that one of our decisions is like a 'lightning bolt' that 'illuminates only a very small portion of the landscape,' leaving a darkness that later decisions do not remove. ”

“ When it comes to capital gains what 'equities' are to be applied? Is it fair that earned income pay a heavier tax?
A son who spends $1,000 on his destitute father does not get the same tax benefit as he who pays a like sum to his alma mater. ”

“ Louis Eisenstein pursues example after example of so-called inequities in tax laws in his book The Ideologies of Taxation (1961) . For example, the profits on the sale of unbred pigs are taxable as ordinary income, while the profits on the sale of pigs once bred are taxable as capital gains. Id., 174. The same is true of turkeys but not of chickens, even though 'a bred chicken and a bred turkey are similarly situated. Each has feathers and two legs.' Ibid.
Treasury recently noted numerous basic inequities resulting in preferred tax treatment for some people's dollars. ”