International Trading Co. v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
From 1944 to 1957, petitioner owned a piece of lakefront property. The property was sold at a loss in 1957. Petitioner did not hold the property for use in its trade or business, or for the production of income, rather the property was held for the personal use of petitioner's stockholders. Held, petitioner cannot take a loss deduction under sec. 165, I.R.C. 1954, and thus is not entitled to a capital loss carryover for the years in issue.
1ConcurrenceSimpson, J.
What is the responsibility of a court in construing a statute — should the court construe it literally, leaving to Congress to alter the results if it wishes to do so, or should the court go beyond the literal meaning of the words of the statute in an attempt to carry out the purpose of the legislation? That is the fundamental issue raised by this case. I applaud the conclusion of the majority, but I would like to add my own thoughts in support of it.
The approach of construing the statute literally and leaving to Congress the alteration of any undesired results ignores the basic division of…
2Cases cited18 opinions
- Gregory v. HelveringSupreme Court of the United States · 1935
- Helvering v. CliffordSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
- Higgins v. SmithSupreme Court of the United States · 1940
- Corn Products Refining Co. v. CommissionerSupreme Court of the United States · 1956
- Commissioner v. BrownSupreme Court of the United States · 1965
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