Opinion
No. 6157.
December 10, 1936.
Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; W.H. Kirkpatrick, Judge.
Proceeding in the matter of Lewis B. Hoffman, individually and trading as Lewis B. Hoffman Oil Company, bankrupt. From a decree ( 16 F. Supp. 391), reversing the referee's order allowing claims of W.J. Rothensies, Collector of Internal Revenue, in a reduced amount, and allowing the claims in a larger sum, Charles C. Yocum, trustee of the bankrupt, appeals.
Affirmed.
Fox, Rothschild, O'Brien Frankel and James J. O'Brien, all of Philadelphia, Pa., for appellant.
Charles D. McAvoy, U.S. Atty., and Thomas J. Curtin, Asst. U.S. Atty., both of Philadelphia, Pa. (Herman Oliphant and M.C. Hawks, both of Washington, D.C., of counsel), for appellee.
Before BUFFINGTON, Circuit Judge, and MARIS, District Judge.
A full consideration of this case satisfies us that both the issues involved were correctly decided by the court below. The opinion of judge Kirkpatrick (In re Hoffman [D.C.] 16 F. Supp. 391), sets forth a satisfactory statement of the principles involved. We need only add that section 64a of the Bankruptcy Act, as amended (11 U.S.C.A. § 104(a), which authorizes the Bankruptcy Court to determine any question arising as to the amount or legality of a tax due and owing by the bankrupt, does not confer authority upon the court to waive the requirement of the Revenue Act (26 U.S.C.A. § 23(k) that a bad debt, to be deductible from gross income, must be charged off by the taxpayer. To hold otherwise would be in effect to permit an amendment of the Revenue Act by the bankruptcy court. The decree is affirmed.