United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

United States v. Magnolia Petroleum Co., 276 U.S. 160 (1928)

United States v. Magnolia Petroleum Company

No. 283

Argued January 4, 1928

Decided February 20, 1928

276 U.S. 160

Syllabus

1. Section 1019 of the Revenue Act of 1924, which provides that interest on a refund of any internal revenue tax erroneously or illegally assessed or collected shall be allowed from the date when the tax was paid, cannot be construed retroactively as substituting that basis of interest recovery for the basis in the Act of 1921, as to refunds which had been allowed under the earlier Act but not computed or paid when the later Act was passed. P. 276 U. S. 162.

2. This conclusion is not affected even if it be assumed that the interest allowed by the earlier Act was not within the saving clause accompanying the repeal of that Act by that later one, a question not here raised, and therefore not considered. P. 276 U. S. 163.

3. Save as given by Congress, there was no right to the interest. Id.

4. Under § 1324(a), subdivision (1), Act of 1921, a claimant is not entitled to interest from the time when the tax was paid if the protest accompanying the payment gave no information and stated nothing that would aid in determining whether an overassessment had been made. P. 276 U. S. 164.

63 Ct.Cls. 173 reversed.

Certiorari, 275 U.S. 512, to a judgment of the Court of Claims, allowing a claim for interest on refunds of income and excess profits taxes.