District of Columbia v. Samuel Meisel & Co.

PAIR, Associate Judge:

The subject of controversy on this appeal is the personal property tax liability,1 if any, of an importer of alcoholic beverages. The facts are not in dispute. Samuel Meisel & Company, Inc. (Meisel) is an importer of alcoholic beverages which it sells only to diplomatic representatives of foreign governments. To this end Meisel maintains on its premises in the District of Columbia (the District) a bonded warehouse where such beverages are stored pending sale.2

Sometime in April 1972, the District assessed against Meisel’s inventory in the bonded warehouse a personal…