Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co.

E296201

Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. is a landmark 1955 U.S. Supreme Court case that broadly defined "gross income" under the Internal Revenue Code to include punitive damages and other undeniable accessions to wealth.

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Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co. canonical 1

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
landmark case
tax law case
appealFrom United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
appliesTo punitive damages
treble damages
windfall recoveries
category 1955 in United States case law
United States Supreme Court cases
surface form: United States Supreme Court cases in tax law
citationParallel 75 S. Ct. 473
99 L. Ed. 483
clarifiedThat Congress intended to exert the full measure of its taxing power in defining gross income.
country United States of America
surface form: United States
decisionType decision on appeal from the United States Court of Appeals
definedTerm gross income
establishedTest undeniable accession to wealth test for gross income
hasCitation 348 U.S. 426
hasCourt Supreme Court of the United States
hasDocketNumber No. 72
No. 73
holding Punitive damages are taxable as gross income.
Undeniable accessions to wealth, clearly realized, over which the taxpayer has complete dominion constitute gross income.
interpretsSection § 22(a)
interpretsStatute Internal Revenue Code of 1939
issue Whether punitive damages received in a lawsuit are includible in gross income under the Internal Revenue Code.
jurisdiction federal
justiceNotParticipating John M. Harlan II
surface form: John Marshall Harlan II
legalArea United States tax law
federal income tax law
majorityOpinionBy Earl Warren
majorityOpinionVote 8–0
overruledPrecedentInPart Commissioner v. Wilcox
pageInUnitedStatesReports 426
petitioner Commissioner of Internal Revenue
relatedConcept accession to wealth
complete dominion over income
realization of income
respondent Glenshaw Glass Company
William Goldman Theatres, Inc.
result Judgment of the Court of Appeals reversed.
subsequentInfluence Frequently cited in U.S. tax law for the definition of gross income.
volumeOfUnitedStatesReports 348
wasArguedOn 1954-11-09
wasDecidedOn 1955-03-28
wasRearguedOn 1955-01-11
yearDecided 1955

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Helvering v. Bruun relatedCase Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co.