Charles Crowther and Ivy L. Crowther v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Charles Crowther and Ivy L. Crowther, hereinafter called petitioners, received from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue notices of deficiency in income tax for the years 1951 and 1954. Within 90 days thereafter petitioners filed petitions in the Tax Court of the United States, asking for a redetermination of those deficiencies. Following a trial and decision of the Tax Court, petitioners filed a petition for a review by this Court. No question is raised as to the jurisdiction of the Tax Court nor of this Court.

The case involves income tax deductions for the years 1951 and 1954. The two cases were consolidated for trial in the Tax Court. The Internal Revenue Act of 1939 is applicable to the 1951 tax return, and the Internal Revenue Act of 1954 is applicable to the income tax return of 1954. However, there is no appreciable difference between the pertinent provisions in the 1939 or in the 1954 Act. Therefore the same general principles govern the two cases.

Petitioners make generally two claims of error on the part of the Tax Court. We will discuss the second claim first.

Petitioners in their complaint filed in the Tax Court made allegations in some detail that the Commissioner…