George H. Moore letter to the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company - March 16, 1917
Transcript
This in reply to letter by Mr. Harris but dicta by your B 3/17
Transcript
[Treasury Department letterhead] March 16th, 1917. [stamp] B.S.D.E.CO. ENGRG. DEPT. [March] 17 1917 to note to ans. MR 3/17/[1917] [stamp] Busch-Sulzer Bros Diesel Engine Co. [March] 17 1917 Busch-Sulzer Bros.-Diesel Engine Co., St. Louis [Missouri] Gentlemen:- Referring to correspondence regarding your liability to tax on munitions, you are advised that I am in receipt of a letter from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue under date of March 12th as follows:- "This office is in receipt of your letter of the 7th instant with which you enclosed a communication received from the Busch-Sulzer Brothers-Diesel Engine Company, relative to tax on its product. In reply you are informed that from the letter of the corporation, it appears that it is engaged in the manufacture of engines which are furnished to the Lake Torpedo Boat Company, the Deselektro Company, and the California Shipbuilding Company, which are used by such companies in submarine boats, and in this connection state: "The said engines are of characteristic types, which we offer commercially as out type "M" and type "Ma". Their identity as commercial commodities is established by their type, and they do not lose it merely because the first examples of any specific size or capacity happen to be sold for installation in a submarine, nor because such of these engines as are destined for installation insubmarines, are built under Government inspection and of materials which comply with Government requirements. Moreover, these engines can, without further treatment be used for purposes other than the propulsion of submarines. "Our contracts with the purchases of these engines, for installation in submarines, clearly indicate the character of the engines; in that said contracts cover, for example, 'contractor's standard type 6-Ma-85, light-weight, high-speed marine engines' and merely state that they are suitable for submarine boats.'" Even though these engines are a stock or commercial commodity, which may be used by other than submarineboats, it is the opinion of this office that these engines which are designed for
Transcript
[Treasury Department letterhead] Busch-Sulzer Bros.-Diesel Engine Co. #2 installation in submarine or submergible vessels are parts, within the meaning of Title III of the Act of September 8th, 1916, and the profits derived from the sale thereof will be subject to the special excise tax of 12
Details
| Title | George H. Moore letter to the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company - March 16, 1917 |
| Creator | Moore, George H. |
| Source | Moore, George H. Letter to the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company. 16 March 1917. Busch-Sulzer Collection. Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin. |
| Description | Letter from George H. Moore, collector for the Interval Revenue Services, to the Busch-Sulzer Brothers Diesel Engine Company. The company argued that since they produced engines for commercial use they should not be subjected to the Munitions Manufacturer's Tax. Moore informed them that the engines were made for submergible vessels and the profits derived from the sale of their engines would be subject to taxation. |
| Subject LCSH | Diesel engine; Submarine boats; Busch-Sulzer brothers Diesel engine company |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I; Munition Manufacturer's Tax |
| Contributing Institution | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Wisconsin Historical Society: 608-264-6535 |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | March 16, 1917 |
| Language | English |