Paul Peringer v. Territory of Alaska

This is a suit by the Territory of Alaska to recover from appellant personal income taxes for the years 1949 and 1950, for which years he had declined to pay the tax. Judgment was granted in favor of the Territory.

Appellant is a civilian employee of the United States whose services are performed in Alaska. The Territorial income tax imposed generally is a flat 10% of the income tax exacted by the United States. During the tax years in question federal employees were not as a class subject to the Territorial withholding tax provisions applicable to other employees, the Territory not being in a position to require withholding by the federal government. Therefore federal employees were required to make returns; whereas the generality of privately employed persons whose taxes were subject to withholding at the source had no need to do so. In the case of the latter, if they had received income of not more than $100 in excess of the amounts for which withholdings had been made, they were not required to report the excess or to pay taxes on it. Because of this difference in treatment appellant complains that he was made liable for $11.66 more income taxes in 1949 and $12.86 more in…