United States v. Phez Co.

Section 628 of the Revenue Act of 1918, 40 Stat. 1116 (Comp. St. § 6161%d (a), provides that there shall be paid “upon all unfermented grape juice, ginger ale, root beer, sarsaparilla, pop, artificial mineral waters (carbonated and not.carbonated), other carbonated waters or beverages, and other soft drinks, sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer, in bottles or other closed containers, a tax equivalent to 10 per centum of the price for which so sold.” Under the provisions of that act the Northwest Fruit Products Company, a corporation, and the Phez Company, a corporation, paid taxes in the years 1919 and 1920 upon bottles of un-fermented loganberry juice sold under the registered trade-marks of Phez and Loju. On the ground that said taxes had been illegally assessed and collected, the said corporations recovered in the court below judgments against the United States, in which there was adjudged to be owing to the Northwest Fruit Products Company $1,-779.41, and to the Phez Company, $23,164.-70, of which sum $1,210.46 was for taxes paid on Phez; the remainder being for taxes paid on Loju. The evidence was that Lo-ju was made by adding water and sugar to loganberry juice,…