- 18 - upheld, the distinction between direct and other classes of taxes may be wiped out, since the property itself may likewise be taxed by resort to the expedient of levying numerous taxes upon its uses; that one of the uses of property is to keep it, and that a tax upon the possession or keeping of property is no different from a tax on the property itself. Even if we assume that a tax levied upon all the uses to which property may be put * * * would be in effect a tax upon property, * * * and hence a direct tax requiring apportionment, that is not the case before us. * * * * * * * * * * [The gift tax] falls so far short of taxing generally the uses of property that it cannot be likened to the taxes on property itself which have been recognized as direct. It falls, rather, into that category of imposts or excises which, since they apply only to a limited exercise of property rights, have been deemed to be indirect and so valid although not apportioned. In short, the gift tax is not a direct tax because it is not levied on the “general ownership” of property but rather applies only to “a limited exercise of property rights”; i.e., the exercise of the “power to give the property owned to another.” Id. at 136. Here, petitioner’s dispute is not with the fact that he made a donative transfer that is properly the subject of the Federal gift tax, but rather with the characterization of the property for purposes of measuring its value–-a consideration that is irrelevant for purposes of determining the constitutionality of the tax.10 10 Indeed, in a closely analogous context, the Supreme Court has held that the constitutionality of the Federal estate tax does not depend upon there even being a transfer of the property at death. See Fernandez v. Wiener, 326 U.S. 340, 355 (1945); (continued...)Page: Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Next
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