Simpson Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue/Dissent Douglas

Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, with whom Mr. Justice MURPHY and Mr. Justice RUTLEDGE concur, dissenting.

I can find no warrant in § 1140 of the Internal Revenue Code 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev. Code, § 1140, for saying that the decision of the Tax Court becomes 'final' only after the expiration of the 25-day period within which a petition for rehearing may be filed. The section contains no such provision. The 25-day period for rehearings is prescribed by our Rule 33, 28 U.S.C.A. following section 354. But our authority to grant petitions for rehearing during the Term rises from the same source. See Wayne United Gas Co. v. Owens-Illinois Glass Co., 300 U.S. 131, 136, 137, 57 S.Ct. 382, 385, 386, 81 L.Ed. 557; Art Metal Construction Co. v. United States, 289 U.S. 706, 53 S.Ct. 692, 77 L.Ed. 1462; Bronson v. Schulten, 104 U.S. 410, 415, 26 L.Ed. 797. Hence I see no basis for saying that one, but not the other, qualifies that provision of § 1140 which states that the decision of the Tax Court becomes final 'upon the denial of a petition for certiorari.'