Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co.

Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co., 271 U.S. 170 (1926), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court held that no taxable income arose from the repayment in German marks of loans that had originally been made in U.S. dollars, despite the fact that the marks had gone down in value relative to the dollar since the loan had been made.

Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 25, 1926 Decided May 3, 1926
Full case name	Bowers, Collector of Internal Revenue v. Kerbaugh-Empire Company
Citations	271 U.S. 170 (more) 46 S. Ct. 449; 70 L. Ed. 886; 1926 U.S. LEXIS 615; 1 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) ¶ 174; 5 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 6014; 1926 P.H. P1865
Case history
Prior	Kerbaugh-Empire Co. v. Bowers, 300 F. 938 (S.D.N.Y. 1924)
Holding
No taxable income arose from the repayment in German marks of loans that had originally been made in U.S. dollars, despite the fact that the marks had gone down in value relative to the dollar since the loan had been made.
Court membership
Chief Justice William H. Taft Associate Justices Oliver W. Holmes Jr. · Willis Van Devanter James C. McReynolds · Louis Brandeis George Sutherland · Pierce Butler Edward T. Sanford · Harlan F. Stone
Case opinions
Majority	Butler, joined by Taft, Holmes, Van Devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland, Sanford, Stone
Concurrence	Brandeis
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XVI

This decision was narrowed by the court six years later in United States v. Kirby Lumber Co..