Legal Opinion

Mesi v. Commissioner

United States Tax Court

Decided December 16, 1955No. Docket No. 50868PublishedCited by 14 opinions

1. Petitioner operated an illegal bookmaking business in 1946. His records and income tax return for that year disclose a gross profit of 5 1/2 per cent on the total bets received. Respondent accepted the accuracy of the reported gross receipts and operating expenses but determined that petitioner had overstated the amounts paid to winning bettors. Respondent disallowed $ 48,010.41 of the wagering losses claimed by petitioner.

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1. Petitioner operated an illegal bookmaking business in 1946. His records and income tax return for that year disclose a gross profit of 5 1/2 per cent on the total bets received. Respondent accepted the accuracy of the reported gross receipts and operating expenses but determined that petitioner had overstated the amounts paid to winning bettors. Respondent disallowed $ 48,010.41 of the wagering losses claimed by petitioner. This amount was arrived at by increasing the percentage of gross profit earned by petitioner to 11 1/2 per cent on the basis that 11 1/2 per cent of the amounts bet at…

1Opinion of the Court

OPINION.

Rice, Judge:

This is another in a long series of cases involving the question of whether a bookmaker has accurately reported the income derived from his illegal gambling business. As in many of the previous cases, the respondent does not contest' the accuracy of the gross receipts and operating expenses reported by the taxpayer, but has determined that the taxpayer overstated the wagering losses realized in his business and, consequently, understated his income. The first issue which we must decide, therefore, is whether petitioner is entitled to claim as a deduction the amounts shown…

2Cases cited25 opinions

  1. New Colonial Ice Co. v. HelveringSupreme Court of the United States · 1934
  2. Cohan v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1930
  3. Deputy, Administratrix v. Du PontSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
  4. Commissioner v. HeiningerSupreme Court of the United States · 1943
  5. Detroit Edison Co. v. CommissionerSupreme Court of the United States · 1943

20 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

3Cited by14 opinions

  1. Commissioner v. SullivanSupreme Court of the United States · 1958
  2. Abe Plisco v. United States of America, Percy M. May v. United States of America, Norman R. Baker v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · 1962
  3. Wm. T. Stover Co. v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1956
  4. Dixie MacHine Welding & Metal Works, Inc. v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 1963
  5. Sam Mesi v. Commissioner of Internal RevenueCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1957

9 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.

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