United States v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, a Corporation

The question upon this appeal is whether appellee is liable for federal transportation tax under § 3469, Internal Revenue Code of 1939, 26 U.S.C.A. § 3469 , imposing a tax on transportation of persons.

Appellant’s statement of the case which was accepted by the appellee and which is in harmony with the Court’s findings is as follows:

During the period October 1, 1946, to August 1, 1949, taxpayer employed Paul Mantz Air Services, hereinafter referred to as “Mantz,” to furnish airplanes with pilots to enable taxpayer’s employees to photograph from the air various scenes in the production of motion pictures and to enable them to discover or examine from the air locations on the ground suitable for the production of motion pictures. When an airplane was used to photograph scenes from the air, the only person or persons in the airplane in addition to the pilot were taxpayer’s cameramen engaged in such photography. When an airplane was used to discover or examine locations, the only persons in the airplane in addition to the pilot were taxpayer’s employees who were directly concerned with the suitability of locations for the production of a particular motion picture, such as the…