1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*44
1. Decedent's will created a trust over which his widow received an unlimited testamentary power of appointment. She was also entitled to all the income for life, subject, however, to the right of the trustee to divert to decedent's sons so much thereof as should, together with other income available to them, prove necessary to reasonably provide for their maintenance and education. The sons had at least one other substantial source of income.
2. A sum was paid to the State of Ohio on account of inheritance tax. Upon final determination of succession to the estate, such payment may prove to have been excessive, and refund may be obtained of the excess.
29 T.C. 217">*218 Respondent has determined a deficiency in estate tax of the petitioner in1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*47 the amount of $ 33,151.25. The issues are (1) whether respondent erred in disallowing the marital deduction in respect of a trust created by decedent's will, and (2) whether respondent erred in disallowing a credit for State inheritance tax paid, a part of which may eventually be recovered.
FINDINGS OF FACT.
The stipulation of facts filed by the parties is incorporated by this reference as a part of our findings.
Petitioner is the Estate of Allen L. Weisberger, who died testate on November 13, 1952, a resident of the State of Ohio. He was survived by his widow and two sons, 20 and 15 years of age, respectively. The Federal estate tax return for his estate was filed on February 9, 1954, with the director of internal revenue for the district of Ohio.
Decedent's last will and testament was duly admitted to probate by the Probate Court of Summit County, Ohio, and has not been contested, set aside, or nullified. Joseph Thomas is the duly appointed, qualified, and acting executor of the estate. The notice of deficiency herein was mailed on March 11, 1955.
Under the last will and testament, the residuary estate was placed in trust, and was to be1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*48 divided into two parts. The relevant provisions of the will read in part as follows:
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(b) Upon receipt of the principal of the estate the same shall if possible be divided into two parts. One thereof will hereinafter for convenience be referred to as Trust No. 1, is intended for the ultimate benefit of my wife and the assets thereof shall be of a value equal to one-third of the value of the entire trust fund, * * *
(c) Upon the death of my said wife all which shall remain of Trust No. 1 shall be subject to the absolute right of my said wife to appoint the recepients [
29 T.C. 217">*219 (d) Quarter-annually, or oftener, during her lifetime my said wife shall receive the entire net income of both of said trusts except that either of my sons who shall have attained the age of eighteen years shall be entitled to receive so much out of the income as in the uncontrolled discretion of the Trustee will, together with other income available to said son, reasonably provide for the maintenance and education of said son, and before being under any obligation to pay income for the benefit of either of said sons the Trustee then acting shall be entitled from or on behalf of said sons to receive full information as to all other income available to said son.
Trust No. 2 consisted of the remaining two-thirds of the residuary estate, and was not subject to a power of appointment exercisable by the widow.
In 1935, by agreement of trust between herself and decedent, decedent's mother created a trust (hereinafter called the inter vivos trust), which was modified in 1940. All income was payable to the settlor for life, then to decedent for life, and thereafter in equal shares to decedent's sons. A son under 21 years of age would receive only that part of his share1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*50 necessary for his support, education, and benefit, any balance to be accumulated.
The assets of the inter vivos trust included business real estate, which during the years 1953 to 1956, inclusive, earned and incurred the following gross rentals and operating expenses:
Operating | ||
Year | Gross rentals | expenses |
1953 | $ 36,921.30 | $ 5,911.65 |
1954 | 33,099.50 | 10,112.69 |
1955 | 25,686.36 | 8,019.96 |
1956 | 23,061.08 | 7,705.91 |
Decedent's mother died on March 12, 1943. Since the death of decedent in 1952, substantial amounts of income from the
Respondent has disallowed the value of the corpus of trust No. 1 as part of the marital deduction.
On August 5, 1954, petitioner paid to the State of Ohio inheritance tax in the amount of $ 6,710.41, in respect of property included in decedent's gross estate. The amount of $ 3,677.22 was paid under a so-called permanent order, and the balance of $ 3,033.19 under a so-called temporary order. When the ultimate successions to the estate are determined, the estate may receive a refund of part of the amount paid under the temporary order.
Respondent1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*51 has determined that no part of the amount paid under the temporary order qualifies for the credit for State inheritance tax paid.
29 T.C. 217">*220 OPINION.
The controlling provision here is
1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*52 Item II (d) of the will expressly provides that the decedent's sons may receive all or part of the income earned by the assets constituting the residuary estate, including that part of such income attributable to the corpus of trust No. 1, although the widow may still be living, should any such payment "in the uncontrolled discretion of the Trustee" be necessary to reasonably provide for their maintenance or education.
Deductions are a matter of legislative grace, and the taxpayer seeking the benefit of a deduction must show that every condition which Congress has seen fit to impose has been fully satisfied. Cf.
The benefits of
In order for the interest * * * to qualify * * * under subparagraph (F), the following conditions must be met:
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(2) Under the terms of the trust the surviving spouse must be entitled for her life to all the income from the corpus of the trust. * * * If any person other than the surviving spouse is entitled to any part of the income from the corpus of the trust during the life of such surviving spouse * * * the trust does not qualify.
The foregoing satisfies us that in speaking of a surviving spouse "entitled for life to all the income," Congress had in mind an absolute, unqualified right to income, and did not intend the statute to apply where all or part of such income may be diverted to others upon stated contingencies or at the discretion of a trustee. One whose right to income is subject to any such infirmity is not, as required by Congress, the "virtual owner" of the property.
Under the express terms of the decedent's will, his sons were entitled to receive from the residuary estate, including that part constituting trust No. 1, even though the widow might still be living, that part of the income which in the discretion of the trustees should1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*55 prove necessary, together with other available income, to reasonably provide for their maintenance and education. To be sure, all other available sources of income must be first accounted for, and the circumstances at the date of decedent's death were such as to render it unlikely that income of trust No. 1 would or will ever have to be diverted. This, however, is not enough. Cf.
We cannot even now say with certainty that no diversion of income to the sons will ever occur, and this uncertainty was at least as great at the time of decedent's death in 1952. Trust No. 1 either did or did not satisfy
In cases dealing with charitable and like deductions under
1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*57 Petitioner, by seeking to characterize the qualification to the income rights of the widow as "insubstantial," seems to contend that
Stated otherwise,
29 T.C. 217">*223 In any event, the record falls far short of establishing that the possibility of diversion of income to the sons is so remote as to be negligible, and even if the "remoteness" rule were applicable, we would have to reach the same result because of failure by petitioner to sustain its burden of proof.
It was not certain on November 13, 1952, when decedent died, that the widow would in fact receive all the income of trust No. 1 during her lifetime. That uncertainty is fatal to petitioner's case. By the express terms of the will, trust No. 1 is incapable of qualifying for the marital deduction under
Petitioner paid to the State of Ohio the amount of $ 6,710.41 on account of the inheritance tax imposed by that State. Of that amount, $ 3,677.22 was paid under permanent order, pursuant to one provision of State law, and the remaining $ 3,033.19 was paid under temporary order, pursuant to another provision thereof.
Under Ohio law, the tax rate may vary depending upon the nature of actual succession to the decedent's estate. Where such succession is subject to conditions or contingencies a tax is imposed at the highest rate possible under any resolution thereof. If succession as ultimately determined warrants a lower tax, a refund may be made of the excess.
The payment under temporary order was of the foregoing nature. It was not, however, a mere deposit, which is provided for elsewhere by State statute.
Respondent has determined that no part of the amount paid under temporary order qualifies for the credit against the basic estate tax as set forth in
1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*61 29 T.C. 217">*224 Respondent's argument, based upon the possibility of a refund in the future, is unsound. A refund of any tax paid is always possible, at least until barred by an applicable period of limitation. A tax paid may have to be refunded in whole or in part for any one of an infinite variety of reasons. To deny the credit claimed here simply because a future refund is possible is to judicially repeal
Furthermore, Congress has recognized the possibility of such refunds and has made express provision therefor.
1957 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 44">*62 We have in the past denied a contention virtually identical to that which respondent makes here.
In
1.
For the purpose of the tax the value of the net estate shall be determined, in the case of a citizen or resident of the United States by deducting from the value of the gross estate --
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(e) Bequests, etc., to Surviving Spouse. -- (1) Allowance of marital deduction. -- * * * * (F) Trust with Power of Appointment in Surviving Spouse. -- In the case of an interest in property passing from the decedent in trust, if under the terms of the trust his surviving spouse is entitled for life to all the income from the corpus of the trust, payable annually or at more frequent intervals, with power in the surviving spouse to appoint the entire corpus free of the trust (exercisable in favor of such surviving spouse, or of the estate of such surviving spouse, or in favor of either, whether or not in each case the power is exercisable in favor of others), and with no power in any other person to appoint any part of the corpus to any person other than the surviving spouse -- (i) the interest so passing shall, for the purposes of subparagraph (A), be considered as passing to the surviving spouse, and (ii) no part of the interest so passing shall, for the purposes of subparagraph (B) (i), be considered as passing to any person other than the surviving spouse. This subparagraph shall be applicable only if, under the terms of the trust, such power in the surviving spouse to appoint the corpus, whether exercisable by will or during life, is exercisable by such spouse alone and in all events.↩
2. SEC 812. NET ESTATE.
For the purpose of the tax the value of the net estate shall be determined, in the case of a citizen or resident of the United States by deducting from the value of the gross estate --
* * * *
(d) Transfers for Public, Charitable, and Religious Uses. -- The amount of all bequests, * * * to or for the use of [certain political bodies], for exclusively public purposes, or to or for the use of any corporation organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, * * *↩
3.
(b) Estate, Succession, Legacy, and Inheritance Taxes. -- The tax imposed by section 810 or 860 shall be credited with the amount of any estate, inheritance, legacy, or succession taxes actually paid to any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States, in respect of any property included in the gross estate (not including any such taxes paid with respect to the estate of a person other than the decedent). The credit allowed by this subsection shall not exceed 80 per centum of the tax imposed by section 810 or 860 (before deducting from such tax the credits provided by (1) If a petition for redetermination of a deficiency has been filed with The Tax Court of the United States within the time prescribed in section 871, then within such four-year period or before the expiration of 60 days after the decision of The Tax Court becomes final. (2) If, under section 822 (a) (2) or section 871 (h), an extension of time has been granted for payment of the tax shown on the return, or of a deficiency, then within such four-year period or before the date of the expiration of the period of the extension.↩
4.
(b) Exceptions. -- * * * * (3) Recovery of taxes claimed as credit. -- If any tax claimed as a credit under