Commonwealth v. R. G. Johnson Co. , 495 Pa. 256 ( 1981 )

ROBERTS, Justice,

dissenting.

I dissent. Taxpayer’s sole contribution to the process of coal mining is the sinking of mine shafts and slopes for unrelated companies who extract coal for sale. The parties have stipulated that taxpayer “is not in the business of directly extracting coal or any other minerals or natural resources from the earth for the sale, by it, of coal, or any other minerals or natural resources.” Thus I fail to see any basis for concluding that taxpayer can avail itself of the “mining” exclusion contained in the Tax Reform Code of 1971, 72 P.S. § 7201(c)(3). Compare Commonwealth v. American Ice Co., 406 Pa. 322, 178 A.2d 768 (1962) (ice maker not manufacturer) with Rieck-McJunkin Dairy Co. v. Pittsburgh School District, 362 Pa. 13, 66 A.2d 295 (1948) (ice cream maker, who uses ice in process, manufactures). The order of the Commonwealth Court, therefore, should be reversed, and the order of the Board of Finance and Revenue reinstated.

NIX, J., joins this dissenting opinion.