Snow et Ux. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Decided May 13, 1974. William Orville Douglas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-641 · 416 U.S. 500 (1974) · Cited 169 times

Holding

It was error to disallow the deduction, which was 'in connection with' petitioner's trade or business, and the disallowance was contrary to the broad legislative objective of the Congress when it enacted 174 to provide an economic incentive, especially for small and growing businesses, to engage in the search for new products and new inventions.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 8–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Deputy, Administratrix v. Du Pont · 308 U.S. 488 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Commissioner v. Groetzinger · 480 U.S. 23 (1987)
• Commissioner v. Idaho Power Co. · 418 U.S. 1 (1974)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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William Orville Douglas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1974). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).