Hampton Roads Industrial Electronics Corp. v. United States

This is a suit for a refund of excise taxes paid under protest by the plaintiff pursuant to a ruling of the Internal Revenue Service, which ruling plaintiff asserts is erroneous.

Plaintiff was engaged in the business of furnishing background music to commercial subscribers in the Newport *637News-Norfolk area of Virginia. Some of the subscribers were served by means of wire lines, and as to these subscribers, the excise tax imposed by section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 on “wire and equipment service” was paid, and no claim for refund was made. However, most of the subscribers to the…