Boeing Airplane Co. v. State Commission of Revenue & Taxation

The opinion of the court was delivered by

DawsoN, C. J.:

This is an appeal from a declaratory judgment in an action to determine whether plaintiffs must pay the sales tax and the compensating use tax on the materials they purchase to equip their airplane manufacturing facilities so as to enable them to build airplanes for the federal government.

The action involves no dispute of fact. The pleadings only raise questions of law concerning the legal status of the property sought to be taxed, and that depends on the terms of an elaborate contract between the plaintiffs and the United States.

The…