TAXATION-MITIGATION OF THE STATUTE OF LIMITATION AND THE DOCTRINE OF RECOUPMENT

Excise taxes on the sale of batteries were illegally collected from taxpayer from April, 1919 to April, 1926. In 1926 taxpayer filed a claim for refund for taxes paid between 1922 and 1926. Refund for the payments made earlier was barred by the statute of limitations. In 1935 the refund was received, and it was taxed as income by the commissioner. In a suit by the taxpayer to recover payment of the assessment, the lower court permitted recoupment, against the income tax deficiency, of the amount of excise taxes illegally collected between 1919 and 1922. Held, reversed. The recoupment doctrine as applied to tax law must be limited to a single transaction or taxable event which has been subjected to two taxes on inconsistent legal theories. Rothensies v. Electric Storage Battery Co., 329 U.S. 296, 67 S. Ct. 271 (1946)