The Vita-Food Corporation v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

This was a proceeding in the Tax Court for redetermination of deficiencies in income, declared value excess profits, and excess profits taxes of Vita-Food Corporation for its taxable year ending October 31, 1943.

The fact situation is quite complex. Vita-Food is a California corporation formed November 28, 1940, at the instance of Maxwell H. Lewis. Before the occasion arose for its creation, Lewis had become acquainted with Dr. Henry Borsook, of the California Institute of Technology, and in 1939 was one of a group working under the latter in an analysis of the nutritional requirements of a national defense program. After completing this work, Lewis went into the business of manufacturing vitamins. By the aid of Dr. Borsook and with the formulae and standards of the latter, he produced a single mixed product, containing in each dose all the known vitamin and mineral requirements of the human body, which would sell at approximately one-tenth of the then current prices for individual vitamins. His ultimate purpose was to sell such products in as large a quantity and with as wide a distribution as possible. At that time, there was no trade name given to the products. The only labels…