66 Ct. Cl. 134 | Ct. Cl. | 1928
delivered the opinion of the court:
Section 900 of the revenue act of 1921, 42 Stat. 291, imposed an excise tax upon the sale of automobile trucks by the manufacturer, producer, or importer thereof. There is no question but that the plaintiffs imported the trucks upon which the tax was assessed and sold them within the United States, and the question in the case is whether they thereby became liable for the tax required by this section.
There is nothing ,in the act to justify such a construction. Its terms are clear and unmistakable and fix the liability of plaintiffs for the tax. It is quite probable that Congress did not foresee that some of the automobiles shipped abroad for the World War would be brought back to this country and resold, but, if so, this would not justify us in putting a construction on the act that would virtually amount to rewriting it. The law provided that the tax should be paid on the sale of trucks by an importer thereof and this court has no right to engraft exceptions upon it. The tax was properly assessed under the law and plaintiffs’ petition must be dismissed. It is so ordered.