Hooven
The Federal Zone Thesis at Its Foundation
Paul Andrew Mitchell's *The Federal Zone* (1992; 11th ed. 2001) builds an elaborate territorial-limits argument on three foundational moves: a re-reading of the Supreme Court's 'three meanings' of 'United States' from Hooven & Allison, a restrictive reading of the IRC's definition of 'State,' and a restrictive reading of the IRC's use of 'includes.' The structural argument depends on each foundation holding. None of the three holds against primary sources. § 7701(c) — the IRC's own construction rule — directly forecloses the central move.
The Three Meanings of 'United States'
The Supreme Court in Hooven & Allison Co. v. Evatt (1945) recognized that the term 'United States' can carry one of three distinct senses. The observation is real and analytically useful — but it is regularly misread in alternate-tax theory as authority that the term means only the federal territory in tax statutes. The case says nothing of the kind.