1949 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 199">*199
Outstanding obligations evidenced by "certificates of deposit" issued by petitioner bank, not subject to check, bearing interest, and payable only at maturities of 6 months and 1 year,
12 T.C. 770">*771 By this proceeding petitioner challenges respondent's determination of deficiencies in excess profits tax for the years 1943 and 1944 in the amounts of $ 3,603.38 and $ 271.07, respectively. Petitioner claims an overpayment for the year 1944 in the amount of $ 880.13.
The above deficiencies result from respondent's action in failing to include as borrowed invested capital 50 per cent of petitioner's daily average outstanding certificates of deposit, in computing its excess profits credit for the years 1942, 1943, and 1944.
FINDINGS OF FACT.
The parties have filed a stipulation of facts which we hereby find accordingly.
1949 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 199">*200 Petitioner, an Iowa banking corporation created in 1913, has been engaged exclusively in a general banking business in Iowa. Throughout the taxable period it was a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It filed the returns here in controversy with the collector for the district of Iowa.
Petitioner issued certificates of deposit on a standard form as follows: Certificate of Deposit Ames Trust and Savings Bank Ames, Iowa, No Interest After Maturity Not Subject to Check Cashier Teller
During the years 1942, 1943, and 1944 petitioner had outstanding certificates of deposit on the above standard form in the following daily average amounts:
1942 | $ 36,972.26 |
1943 | 38,708.02 |
1944 | 41,201.28 |
1949 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 199">*201 Each of the above outstanding certificates had a maturity date of either six or twelve months from its date of issue.
For each of the years 1942, 1943, and 1944 petitioner submitted to the Federal Reserve Bank a report of its condition as of December 31. As a subhead under "Liabilities," line 14 of the form upon which the 12 T.C. 770">*772 above reports were submitted was captioned "Time deposits of individuals, partnerships, and corporations." Line 19, also under "Liabilities," was captioned "Total Deposits (items 13 to 18, inclusive)." Petitioner's obligations under its outstanding certificates of deposit which had been executed on the standard form set out above were included in the amounts reported on lines 14 and 19 of the reports of condition. Those amounts for the years 1942, 1943, and 1944 were as follows:
Year | Line 14 | Line 19 |
1942 | $ 513,060.11 | $ 2,402,173.83 |
1943 | 613,959.92 | 3,501,769.39 |
1944 | 802,718.35 | 4,435,560.65 |
OPINION.
That the instruments in controversy were certificates of indebtedness within the meaning of
The term "certificate of indebtedness" includes only instruments having the general character of investment securities issued by a corporation as distinguishable from instruments evidencing debts arising in ordinary transactions between individuals * * *
But we held:
* * * that the certificate of deposit issued by petitioner is a certificate of indebtedness, an instrument having the general character of an investment security, and thus is within the meaning of
having previously concluded in language equally applicable here:
* * * Are the funds deposited with petitioner under the circumstances hereinabove set forth invested in petitioner's business? Does this certificate have the general character of investment securities? We think these questions must be answered in the affirmative. * * *
1949 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 199">*203 In construing the succeeding sentence of the regulations, the question of whether ordinary bank deposits are includible in borrowed capital was not decided. That sentence reads:
* * * Borrowed capital does not include indebtedness incurred by a bank arising out of the receipt of a deposit and evidenced, for example, by a certificate of deposit, a passbook, a cashier's check, or a certified check.
12 T.C. 770">*773 We said:
Respondent argues that petitioner was really in the banking business and therefore the money deposited with it, as evidenced by the certificates hereinabove referred to, must be excluded in computing petitioner's borrowed capital. Respondent claims that these certificates fall squarely within the definition set forth in the regulations excluding indebtedness incurred by a bank * * *. Respondent's suggestion that petitioner was really in the banking business and that the funds evidenced by the certificates herein involved are analogous to the deposits of a bank is not borne out by the evidence. The distinction between ordinary bank deposits and the deposits such as these was recognized in
We do not pass on the question of whether or not petitioner is in the banking business. We think that is immaterial to the precise question presented * * *.
The regulation is manifestly directed at the ordinary bank deposit of a demand nature. Under the principle of
The certificates of deposit in question had maturities of six months or a year; they bore interest; they were payable only upon maturity and were not subject to check. That, unlike
1.
(a) Borrowed Capital. -- The borrowed capital for any day of any taxable year shall be determined as of the beginning of such day and shall be the sum of the following:
(1) The amount of the outstanding indebtedness (not including interest) of the taxpayer which is evidenced by a bond, note, bill of exchange, debenture, certificate of indebtedness, mortgage, or deed of trust, plus * * *↩