Finton J. Phelan, Jr., and E. R. Crain v. Richard Taitano and Harry L. Mangerich

This is one of a series of cases in which citizens of Guam seek to avoid the payment of income taxes on income earned in that territory. Prior to the enactment by Congress of the Organic Act of Guam, citizens of Guam were not required to pay income tax on income earned in Guam. These appellants cling tenaciously to the hope that that Utopian status still exists, although that hope has received no nourishment from the courts.

Previous decisions of this court aredispositive of the basic questions pre sented here. In Laguana v. Ansell, 9 Cir., 212 F.2d 207 , certiorari denied 348 U.S. 830 , 75 S.Ct. 51 , 99 L.Ed. 654 , we affirmed the holding of the District Court, 102 F.Supp. 919 , that Section 31 of the Organic Act of Guam imposes a separate territorial income tax to be enforced by the proper officials of the Government of Guam. In Wilson v. Kennedy, 9 Cir., 232 F.2d 153 , we held that the Director of Finance and the Commissioner of Revenue and Taxation, who are the appellees here, were proper officials of the Government of Guam to enforce the income tax laws and collect the tax.

The appellants seek injunctive relief to restrain the enforcement of the income tax laws and a…