White v. Aronson
United States Supreme Court
302 U.S. 16 (1937)
- Written by Alex Hall, JD
Facts
Section 609 of the Revenue Act of 1932 (the act) imposed a 10 percent excise tax on sales of specific sporting goods as well as the general category of “games and parts of games.” Viking Manufacturing Company (Viking) sold jigsaw puzzles that involved assembling cardboard pieces to create a picture. Aronson (plaintiff), trustee in bankruptcy of Viking, brought suit to recover taxes paid to a collector (defendant) under the act, arguing that the puzzles were not taxable as “games and parts of games.” The trial court found that the puzzles constituted games and were therefore subject to the excise tax. The court of appeals reversed and directed judgment for Aronson, determining that the act was intended to tax instrumentalities used in games of contest between two or more persons, but not puzzles, which the dictionary defined as problems “designed for testing ingenuity.” The court of appeals also noted that jigsaw puzzles were not taxed under previous versions of the act and that commercial trade usage differentiated between jigsaw picture puzzles and games. The United States Supreme Court accepted the case on writ of certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McReynolds, J.)
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