Helvering v. Rankin

The Revenue Act of 1928 (c. 852, §§ 22, 111, 112, 113), provides, as had earlier Revenue Acts, that in computing income from sales of property purchased after February 28, 1913, any excess of the amount realized over cost shall be gain and that any excess of the cost over the amount realized shall be loss. When gain or loss is to be determined on the sale of stock owned outright as an investment, the identification of the shares sold with those purchased ordinarily presents no difficulty. But when the taxpayer has engaged in marginal transactions on a stock exchange, the identification of…