Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933)

The record

Level

Legal authority

Authority

Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933)

Issued

1933-11-06 Nov. 6, 1933

In force

Nov. 6, 1933 (no end date recorded; counted as in force for 120 days)

Character

case

Operative words

His ruling has the support of a presumption of correctness, and the petitioner has the burden of proving it to be wrong. (Welch at 115)... To rebut the presumption, the taxpayer must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the determination is arbitrary or erroneous. (Delaney at 671)... In a situation in which both parties have satisfied their burden of production by offering some evidence, then the party supported by the weight of the evidence will prevail regardless of which party bore the burden of persuasion, proof or preponderance. * * * Therefore, a shift in the burden of preponderance has real significance only in the rare event of an evidentiary tie. (Knudsen at 188, quoting Blodgett v. Commissioner, 394 F.3d 1030, 1039 (8th Cir. 2005))

Notes