United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Guggenheim v. Rasquin, 312 U.S. 254 (1941)

Guggenheim v. Rasquin

No. 92

Argued January 6, 7, 1941

Decided February 3, 1941

312 U.S. 254

Syllabus

1. Under § 506 of the Revenue Act of 1932, which provides that, for the purposes of the gift tax, the amount of a gift is "the value thereof at the date of the gift," the "value" in the case of single premium policies of life insurance, irrevocably assigned simultaneously with issuance, is the cost to the donor, and not the cash surrender value of the policies. P. 312 U. S. 256.

2. Article 2(5) of Treasury Regulations 79, which provided that the

"irrevocable assignment of a life insurance policy . . . constitutes a gift in the amount of the net cash surrender value, if any, plus the prepaid insurance adjusted to the date of the gift,"

applied only to policies upon which current premiums were still being paid at the date of the gift, not to single premium policies. P. 312 U. S. 258.

110 F.2d 371 affirmed.

Page 312 U. S. 255

Certiorari, 311 U.S. 628, to review the reversal of a judgment for the petitioner, 28 F.Supp. 322, in a suit for a tax refund.