Ward v. United States

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LEE R. WEST, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This is a suit for an income tax refund by L. 0. and Myra Ward. Plaintiffs allege that they are entitled to a refund of $112,-988.00 for certain taxes paid in 1976 because the minimum tax on tax preferences, as amended by the Tax Reform Act of 1976 [26 U.S.C. §§ 56, 57(a)(ll)] is unconstitutionally retroactive, discriminatory, and confiscatory in the imposition of a tax on intangible drilling costs (IDC’s). Alternatively, Plaintiffs claim that if the tax is constitutional, it is not an income tax but an excise tax and as such…