United States v. King Trailer Company, Inc.

The Government appeals from a judgment awarding a refund of certain excise taxes which the appellee, a manufacturer, claims to have been illegally imposed and collected. The manufactured articles, described as “pickup coaches”, were held by the district court not to be “automobile truck bodies” or “automobile accessories” within the contemplation of Int. Rev. Code of 1954, § 4061. The careful reasoning of the district court is seen in its reported opinion. King Trailer Company v. United States, 228 F.Supp. 1013 (S.D.Cal.1964).

The question here, as in the court below, is succinctly put by the Government as follows:

We have reviewed the record, which includes testimony given orally, answers to Requests for Admissions and Written Interrogatories submitted by the Government, and photographs, diagrams, and detailed descriptions of the pickup coaches. While they were clearly designed for easy use with a pickup automobile truck, were sold for such use, and were generally so used, they were manufactured as separate, independent units. They are, simply and essentially, small house trailers without wheels. House trailers and house trailer parts and accessories are exempt from the excise…