1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*225
Petitioner was the owner of certain real estate against which there was an outstanding second mortgage of $ 1,717,500. In 1937 petitioner's president and sole stockholder, Louis Adler, learned that this mortgage could be purchased for $ 600,000. A plan was devised whereby the mortgage was purchased by Thurlim, a corporation Adler had formed a few months previously, but which had not yet issued any stock or transacted any business. Three trusts, two of which had been created by Adler's wife and one by his son, acquired all the capital stock of Thurlim for a total of $ 1,000 and contracted with Thurlim to buy the mortgage from Thurlim in consideration for notes of $ 200,000 from each trust. Thurlim paid for the mortgage with funds borrowed from Adler and a bank. A part of the funds from Adler originally came from petitioner. Later, petitioner loaned substantial funds to Thurlim which Thurlim used principally to pay the indebtedness at the bank. Adler was president of Thurlim. During the taxable year petitioner went through the form of paying interest on the mortgage to the trusts, which turned the sums paid over to Thurlim, which used1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*226 them to pay off its loans from petitioner and the bank. Petitioner also advanced large sums to the trusts as loans to be used to pay taxes and insurance premiums.
6 T.C. 778">*779 This proceeding involves the determination by the respondent of deficiencies in petitioner's income and declared value excess profits taxes for the fiscal year ended May 31, 1939, in the amounts of $ 13,190.84 and $ 713.31, respectively. The deficiencies are the result of five adjustments made by the respondent to the net income as disclosed by petitioner's return. By appropriate assignments of error petitioner contested two of the adjustments, namely, "(b) Depreciation $ 14,453.25" and "(d) Interest $ 55,875.00." The respondent now concedes that he erred as to the depreciation adjustment, and this concession will be given effect under Rule 50. In a statement attached to the deficiency notice the respondent explained the interest adjustment as follows:
(d) The deduction for mortgage interest on property located at 530 Seventh Avenue, New York, N. Y., is decreased from $ 85,875.00 to $ 55,875.00 [should 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*228 be $ 30,000, as respondent disallowed $ 55,875] in accordance with the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
By amended answer, the respondent claimed increased deficiencies in income and declared value excess profits taxes in the amounts of $ 3,529.92 and $ 1,185.86, respectively, based upon the affirmative allegation that for the taxable year petitioner is entitled to an interest deduction of only $ 10,235.62 instead of the $ 30,000 allowed in the deficiency notice. Therefore, the sole question for our determination is whether petitioner is entitled to an interest deduction of $ 85,875 as deducted in its return, or whether the amount allowable as a deduction should be reduced to $ 10,235.62, as contended for by the respondent, or to some other amount.
FINDINGS OF FACT.
Petitioner is a corporation, organized in 1928 under the laws of the State of New York, with its principal office at 1450 Broadway, New York City. It filed its return for the fiscal year ended May 31, 1939, with the collector for the third district of New York. At all times since its organization, Louis Adler has been president and sole stockholder of petitioner.
In November of 1928 petitioner leased property1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*229 located at 530 Seventh Avenue in New York City from the Rector, Churchwardens and Vestrymen of Trinity Church, a religious corporation, sometimes hereinafter referred to as Trinity. This property was encumbered by two mortgages securing indebtedness totaling $ 2,750,000.
In or prior to January 1935 petitioner caused the organization of a corporation known as Stiplate Realty Corporation, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Stiplate, for the sole purpose of acquiring the fee to the property from Trinity. All of the capital stock of Stiplate was issued to petitioner. In consideration of the transfer 6 T.C. 778">*780 of title to the real estate to Stiplate, subject to the mortgages and lease above referred to, Stiplate issued to Trinity a bond and mortgage in the face amount of $ 1,717,500, bearing interest at 5 percent per annum, payable semiannually from January 1, 1935. The principal of the bond and mortgage was to be paid in semiannual installments of $ 25,000 beginning April 1, 1936, up to and including October 1, 1954, and the balance of $ 767,500 was to become due and payable on January 1, 1955.
On May 22, 1935, Stiplate executed a deed dated January 2, 1935, conveying the title 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*230 to petitioner, subject to the liens of all the above mentioned mortgages, including the mortgage executed by Stiplate to Trinity and hereinafter sometimes referred to as the second mortgage. Petitioner set up the property on its books at a cost of $ 1,717,500 and the second mortgage was set up as a liability in that same amount, although petitioner did not assume that mortgage. The interest payments called for under this mortgage were made by petitioner directly to Trinity up to the time Trinity sold the mortgage as hereinafter stated.
In January of 1937 Adler caused the incorporation of Thurlim Realty Corporation, a New York corporation, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Thurlim. Adler was and continues to be president of Thurlim. Thurlim's office is maintained and its books are kept in the offices occupied by petitioner.
Bessie Adler is the wife of Adler. She was a director of petitioner, and received a salary of $ 12,000 per year. They have two children, Milton and Ruth. Milton was an adult in the taxable year and was employed by petitioner at a salary of $ 5,200 per year. Ruth was a minor until 1940.
Some time before October 1937 Adler was advised that Trinity was willing1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*231 to sell its second mortgage of the face value of $ 1,717,500 for $ 600,000. After consultation with accountants and lawyers it was decided at or about that time by the individual members of the Adler family, and for the purpose of benefiting them individually, that Mrs. Adler should create a trust for each of the children, and Milton should create a trust for his mother, and that the three trusts should then acquire the second mortgage.
The trust instruments were executed as of November 3, 1937. Mrs. Adler was named as the grantor of two trusts, one for each child, each having a corpus of $ 1,000, of which she and Adler were original trustees, and Julius Fishman, an officer and employee of petitioner, later became a trustee. Milton Adler became the grantor of a trust for his mother, naming the same trustees, with the same original corpus.
The trusts were unable to borrow the additional money required for the contemplated purchase and it was decided to utilize Thurlim, which thus on October 29, 1937, undertook its first business transaction. On 6 T.C. 778">*781 October 28, 1937, Adler opened a bank account in Thurlim's name with a deposit of $ 1,000. On the same day he filled out, except1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*232 for his signature, a stock certificate for Thurlim's entire authorized capital of 100 shares at $ 10 per share to himself. He did not, however, sign it as president. The $ 1,000 was carried on Thurlim's books as a loan from Adler.
On October 28 two checks were drawn on petitioner's bank account, one for $ 30,000 to Adler as a dividend, and one for $ 20,000 to Fishman as a loan. Fishman deposited his check in his own checking account and issued his check in the same amount to Adler in payment of a debt which he owed to Adler. Adler deposited petitioner's check for $ 30,000 and Fishman's check for $ 20,000 in his personal checking account, and on October 28 issued his check for $ 50,000 to Thurlim, which was deposited in Thurlim's account. On October 29, Thurlim, through Adler as president, offered to purchase the second mortgage from Trinity for $ 600,000, and attached to its offer its check for $ 50,000 as down payment, other payments to be made as follows: $ 150,000 on or before November 9, 1937; $ 200,000 on or before December 15, 1937; and $ 200,000 on or before January 15, 1938. On November 2, 1937, Trinity accepted the offer.
On November 3, 1937, Thurlim's capital stock1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*233 was issued to the three trusts in equal shares of 33 1/3 shares each for a total consideration of $ 1,000, two trusts paying $ 333.33 each and one trust paying $ 333.34. On the same day Thurlim and the trustees, grantors and beneficiaries of the three trusts, entered into an agreement by the terms of which Thurlim agreed to assign to the trustees the bond and mortgage, when received from Trinity, in consideration of which the trustees agreed to deliver three promissory notes in the face amount of $ 200,000 each to Thurlim, and, until the $ 600,000 represented by those notes was paid, to assign to Thurlim to be credited on the notes, all payments which might be payable to the trustees pursuant to the mortgage. The beneficiaries agreed to lend to their respective trustees such amounts as might be needed to meet the notes to Thurlim, the trustees' discretion in that respect to be binding on the beneficiaries.
In order to finance the purchase of the second mortgage, Thurlim borrowed $ 400,000 at 4 percent from the Manufacturers Trust Co. of New York, and executed promissory notes bearing the following dates and amounts:
November 8, 1937 | $ 160,000 |
December 13, 1937 | 200,000 |
January 13, 1938 | 40,000 |
1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*234 The balance of the purchase price was furnished by Adler, without interest, on January 13, 1938. As collateral for the loans from the Manufacturers Trust Co., Adler and his wife deposited their individual 6 T.C. 778">*782 life insurance policies and Adler also deposited some stock in petitioner owned by him.
Thurlim made the last payment to Trinity on January 14, 1938, and on the same day Trinity executed and delivered an assignment of the bond and mortgage to Thurlim.
Beginning in 1938, petitioner made advances to the three trusts for the payment of taxes, insurance premiums, or other such items. During the taxable year such advances totaled $ 43,767.14 and by May 31, 1941, they totaled $ 110,833.73.
Petitioner advanced as loans to Thurlim the following amounts on the dates indicated:
May 7, 1938 | $ 50,000 |
Dec. 7, 1938 | 101,000 |
Mar. 8, 1939 | 2,000 |
Sept. 9, 1939 | 1,500 |
Sept. 11, 1939 | 25,000 |
Dec. 8, 1939 | 26,000 |
Mar. 7, 1940 | 25,750 |
June 8, 1940 | 25,500 |
Sept. 10, 1940 | $ 50,000 |
Oct. 27, 1941 | 125 |
Dec. 4, 1941 | 125 |
Mar. 10, 1942 | 500 |
May 9, 1942 | 200 |
June 10, 1942 | 400 |
Total | 308,100 |
On January 12, 1938, petitioner paid interest on the second mortgage totaling $ 38,405 to1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*235 the three trusts, which on the same day paid it to Thurlim, to be applied on the notes of the three trusts. On July 1, 1938, petitioner paid to the trusts as interest on the second mortgage a total of $ 47,470. The trusts paid $ 47,470 to Thurlim to apply on their notes. These amounts were used by Thurlim to pay on its obligations to Manufacturers Trust Co.
On January 3, 1939, petitioner paid to the trusts as interest on the second mortgage the total sum of $ 42,937.50; the trusts paid $ 42,937.50 to Thurlim to be applied on the notes; and Thurlim paid $ 42,937.50 to petitioner to apply on its loans.
On July 3, 1939, petitioner paid to the trusts $ 42,937.50 as interest on the mortgage; the trusts paid Thurlim $ 42,937.50 to apply on the notes; and Thurlim paid petitioner $ 42,937.50 to apply on its loans.
On January 2, 1940, petitioner paid $ 42,937.50 to the trusts as interest on the mortgage; the trusts paid Thurlim $ 42,937.50 to apply on the notes; and Thurlim applied the $ 42,937.50 on the notes of Manufacturers Trust Co.
On July 1, 1940, petitioner paid the trusts $ 42,937.50 as interest on the mortgage; the trusts paid Thurlim $ 42,937.50 to apply on their notes; and Thurlim1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*236 paid $ 42,937.50 to petitioner to apply on its loans.
On January 3, 1941, petitioner paid the trusts $ 42,937.50 as interest on the mortgage; the trusts paid Thurlim $ 42,937.50 to apply on their notes; and Thurlim paid $ 28,000 to Adler on his loans, and $ 14,937.50 to petitioner to apply on its loans.
6 T.C. 778">*783 On July 1, 1941, petitioner paid $ 42,937.50 to the trusts as interest on the second mortgage; the trusts paid $ 41,137.50 to Thurlim to apply on their notes; and Thurlim paid Adler $ 41,000 to apply on his loans.
On January 2, 1942, petitioner paid to the trusts $ 42,937.50 as interest; the trusts paid the same amount to Thurlim; and Thurlim paid it to petitioner to apply on its loans.
On July 6, 1942, petitioner paid the trusts $ 42,937.50 as interest on the mortgage; the trusts paid to Thurlim $ 39,587.15 to apply on their notes; and Thurlim paid to petitioner $ 39,587.15 to apply on its loans.
On January 28, 1944, Thurlim, in an agreement with the Aetna Life Insurance Co., expressed its intention to record the mortgage and assignment from Trinity. At that time Thurlim stated it was the owner of the second mortgage, although it had previously assigned the mortgage to 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*237 the trusts.
Petitioner has made no payments on the principal of the second mortgage.
Thurlim, the trusts, and petitioner each has a separate bank account and separate books of account.
Petitioner kept its books on an accrual basis of accounting.
During the fiscal year ended May 31, 1939, which is the taxable year we have before us, petitioner accrued on its books interest at the rate of 5 percent per annum on the second mortgage in the total amount of $ 85,875, which amount was credited each month in equal shares to the trusts, and was duly paid within two and one-half months after the close of the taxable year. This amount of $ 85,875 was claimed as a deduction on petitioner's income tax return for interest accrued during the taxable year. Respondent originally allowed a $ 30,000 deduction on the theory that petitioner's indebtedness was in the amount of $ 600,000, the amount for which the second mortgage was purchased. By amended answer respondent reduced the allowable deduction to $ 10,235.62 on the ground that the entire amount of $ 600,000 indebtedness was not outstanding throughout the taxable year.
We make the following ultimate findings of fact:
(1) In the aforesaid acquisition1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*238 of the second mortgage, and subsequent thereto, Thurlim and the trusts served no business purpose, but functioned substantially as controlled agents or nominees of petitioner.
(2) During the taxable year the second mortgage was not an indebtedness of petitioner within the meaning of
(3) As far as the present issue is concerned, the only indebtedness upon which petitioner is entitled to an interest deduction for the taxable year ended May 31, 1939, is an indebtedness of $ 350,000 from 6 T.C. 778">*784 June 1 to July 1, 1938, due the Manufacturers Trust Co.; $ 300,000 from July 1 to December 9, 1938; and $ 200,000 from December 9, 1938, to May 31, 1939, due the same company. The interest rate is 4 percent per annum and the total allowable interest deduction is the amount of $ 10,235.62, instead of $ 85,875 as claimed by petitioner in its return.
OPINION.
Petitioner contends that during the entire taxable year it had an outstanding1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*239 indebtedness of $ 1,717,500 upon which it was obligated to pay interest at the rate of 5 percent per annum. The respondent contends that Thurlim and the three trusts were in substance petitioner's controlled agents or nominees; that, through Thurlim and the trusts, petitioner must be considered as having purchased its own indebtedness, which thereupon ceased to be an outstanding indebtedness upon which interest is accruable and deductible for tax purposes; and that the only indebtedness upon which petitioner is entitled to deduct interest is the outstanding indebtedness of petitioner's subservient agent, Thurlim, to Manufacturers Trust Co., which bore interest at the rate of 4 percent per annum and consisted of $ 350,000 at the beginning of the taxable year, which amount was reduced to $ 300,000 on July 1, 1938, and to $ 200,000 on December 9, 1938. We agree with the respondent.
The respondent does not question the validity or
In
6 T.C. 778">*785 * * * Although a taxpayer has the right to cast his transactions in such form as he chooses, and the form he chooses will generally be respected, the Government is not required to acquiesce in the taxpayer's election of form as necessarily indicating the character of the transaction upon which his tax is to be determined. "The Government may look at actualities and 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*241 upon determination that the form employed for doing business or carrying out the challenged tax event is unreal or a sham may sustain or disregard the effect of the fiction as best serves the purpose of the tax statute."
Cf.
We think the principles stated in the foregoing cases are applicable here. In 1937, when Adler learned that Trinity was considering discounting the second mortgage for approximately one-third of its face value, he talked the matter over with his wife and son and they in turn consulted their accountants and lawyers. At that time Thurlim was nothing but an empty shell. It had not yet issued any of its capital stock. It owned no assets. Adler, the sole stockholder of petitioner, had caused Thurlim to be incorporated several months before, but it transacted no business until October 29, 1937, when it wrote the letter to Trinity offering to purchase the bond and mortgage in question for the sum of $ 600,000 and tendered its check for $ 50,000 as a down payment. As indicated in our findings, this $ 50,000 originally came from petitioner in the manner detailed in our findings. Trinity accepted the offer to purchase on November 2, 1937, and on the following day the trusts were created and Thurlim issued all of its stock to the trusts for a total consideration of $ 1,000 and entered into an1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*243 agreement with the trusts to sell them the bond and mortgage it was purchasing from Trinity for the same amount of $ 600,000, agreeing to take a promissory note from each trust for the amount of $ 200,000. Adler arranged with the Manufacturers Trust Co. for it to loan Thurlim $ 400,000 on his personal signature and security deposited by Adler and his wife. The balance of the purchase price was furnished by Adler as a loan to Thurlim. After this was done, 6 T.C. 778">*786 petitioner began paying the so-called interest on the original amount of $ 1,717,500 to the trusts, which in turn would pay it over to Thurlim as a part payment on the $ 200,000 notes, and Thurlim would then use it to pay off its obligations to the Manufacturers Trust Co., petitioner, and Adler. As shown in our findings, petitioner loaned Thurlim a total of $ 308,100 from May 7, 1938, to June 10, 1942. This was separate and apart from the so-called interest. Most of this $ 308,100 was used by Thurlim to pay off its borrowings from the Manufacturers Trust Co. Up to May 31, 1941, petitioner had also advanced to the trusts a total of $ 110,833.73 in addition to the so-called interest which was used by the trusts to pay1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*244 taxes, insurance, premiums and other such items. After Trinity had received the final payment on January 14, 1938, it executed and delivered an assignment of the bond and mortgage to Thurlim, which was then placed in petitioner's safe, where it has since remained. We think that, when consideration is given to the entire record, the conclusion must be that Thurlim and the trusts were simply being used by petitioner as its agents or nominees in the purchase of petitioner's outstanding indebtedness at a substantial discount.
The Supreme Court has held that the usual import of the term interest "is the amount which one has contracted to pay for the use of borrowed money."
Opper,
SEC. 45. ALLOCATION OF INCOME AND DEDUCTIONS.
In any case of two or more organizations, trades, or businesses (whether or not incorporated, whether or not organized in the United States, and whether or not affiliated) owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the same interests, the Commissioner is authorized to distribute, apportion, or allocate gross income or deductions between or among such organizations, trades, or businesses, if he determines that such distribution, apportionment, or allocation is necessary in order to prevent evasion of taxes or clearly to reflect the income of any of such organizations, trades, or businesses.
The fact that there is no reference to that section by number in the notice of deficiency where, as here, "it may be assumed that the adjustment was made in order that the real income of the petitioner might be clearly reflected," is not1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*247 necessarily an impediment to its application by us.
Kern,
As authority1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*248 for his contention respondent relies on general language contained in
The majority opinion accepts and approves the argument of respondent, and cites as authority
I am unable to agree. The basic reason for my disagreement is the fact that in this case the petitioner corporation did not cause the incorporation of Thurlim or the formation of the Adler family trusts and did not control them. Therefore, the conclusion can not be reached in my opinion that the petitioner corporation, directly or indirectly, purchased the indebtedness secured by a mortgage on its property, either itself or through agencies which petitioner itself controlled. This indebtedness at all times remained an 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*249 outstanding obligation secured by a mortgage on petitioner's property pursuant to which interest was payable by petitioner. The truth is that Thurlim was controlled by Adler either directly, or indirectly through the Adler family trusts, in much the same way in which Adler controlled petitioner itself through ownership of its stock. However, it can not be said that petitioner corporation so controlled Thurlim or the Adler family trusts that the acquisition by Thurlim or the trusts of the petitioner's mortgage indebtedness was equivalent to an acquisition thereof by petitioner. The fact that petitioner was caused by its controlling stockholder to advance money to him and to Thurlim does not establish petitioner's control over Thurlim, but rather establishes Adler's control over both petitioner and Thurlim; and the fact that petitioner and Thurlim were controlled by the same stockholder does not result in a relationship between the two corporations of reciprocal agency. Even though we consider the situation with the realistic approach approved by the cases cited by respondent and disregard legalistic technicalities, I am unable to consider ownership by corporation A as equivalent1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*250 to ownership by corporation B because the two corporations are controlled by the ownership of their respective common stock by the same individual or group of individuals.
It should be pointed out that no question arises as to the
In this case the transaction actually accomplished by Adler and the members of his family resulted in a tax advantage to petitioner, as well as to Adler, which would not have been available to it if it had purchased and retired the indebtedness. This fact, however, does not justify us in treating possibilities as actualities for the purpose of imposing upon petitioner an increased tax burden. See
The cases cited by the majority would, in my opinion, be relevant only to a situation where corporations or trusts were created and controlled by the taxpayer itself for no business purpose other than to minimize the tax liability of the taxpayer who created and controlled them. They are not relevant to the situation presented in the instant case, where the taxpayer corporation did not create or control either Thurlim or the trusts.
It should be pointed out that the tax liability of Adler, who controlled petitioner as well as Thurlim and the trusts, is not here in question, and that the respondent makes no contention that the corporate entity of petitioner should be disregarded. In my opinion, 1946 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 225">*252 the majority has, in its reasoning, approached the problem as if the petitioner corporation were Adler or had done those things which Adler did. This approach is not warranted by the record, the pleadings, or the law, and the result reached compels my dissent.