Powers v. Commissioner

Supreme Court

Powers v. Commissioner

312 U.S. 259, 61 S. Ct. 509, 85 L. Ed. 817, 1941 U.S. LEXIS 1269, 1941 C.B. 448, 25 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1168

CourtSupreme Court of the United States

DecidedFebruary 3, 1941

Docket486

StatusPublished

Cited by82 cases

This text of 312 U.S. 259 (Powers v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of the United States primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Powers v. Commissioner, 312 U.S. 259, 61 S. Ct. 509, 85 L. Ed. 817, 1941 U.S. LEXIS 1269, 1941 C.B. 448, 25 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1168 (1941).

Pincite

Opinion

Mr. Justice Douglas

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The issue in this case is the same as that in Guggenheim v. Rasquin, ante, p. 254. Petitioner in November and December, 1935, purchased single-premium policies of insurance on her own life and late in December, 1935, irrevocably assigned them as gifts. The Commissioner determined a deficiency, claiming that the value of the policies for gift-tax purposes was the cost of duplicating them at the dates of the gifts, not the cash-surrender *260 value as reported by petitioner. The Board of'.Tax Appeals held that the value of the gifts was their cash-surrender value. The Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. 115 F. 2d 209. That judgment must be affirmed on the authority of Guggenheim v. Rasquin, supra, unless as claimed by petitioner the court below was precluded from substituting its judgment of value for that of the Board. Helvering v. Rankin, 295 U. S. 123, 131. But the question of what criterion should be. employed for determining the “value” of the gifts is a question of law. See Lucas v. Alexander, 279 U. S. 573. Accordingly, the Circuit Court of Appeals was justified in reversing the decision of the Board as “not in accordance with law.” Int. Rev. Code 1939, § 1141 (c) (1); 53 Stat. 164.

Affirmed.

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Mr. Justice Douglas

delivered the opinion of the Court.

The issue in this case is the same as that in Guggenheim v. Rasquin, ante, p. 254. Petitioner in November and December, 1935, purchased single-premium policies of insurance on her own life and late in December, 1935, irrevocably assigned them as gifts. The Commissioner determined a deficiency, claiming that the value of the policies for gift-tax purposes was the cost of duplicating them at the dates of the gifts, not the cash-surrender *260 value as reported by petitioner. The Board of'.Tax Appeals held that the value of the gifts was their cash-surrender value. The Circuit Court of Appeals reversed. 115 F. 2d 209. That judgment must be affirmed on the authority of Guggenheim v. Rasquin, supra, unless as claimed by petitioner the court below was precluded from substituting its judgment of value for that of the Board. Helvering v. Rankin, 295 U. S. 123, 131. But the question of what criterion should be. employed for determining the “value” of the gifts is a question of law. See Lucas v. Alexander, 279 U. S. 573. Accordingly, the Circuit Court of Appeals was justified in reversing the decision of the Board as “not in accordance with law.” Int. Rev. Code 1939, § 1141 (c) (1); 53 Stat. 164.

Affirmed.

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312 U.S. 259, 61 S. Ct. 509, 85 L. Ed. 817, 1941 U.S. LEXIS 1269, 1941 C.B. 448, 25 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1168, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/powers-v-commissioner-scotus-1941.

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