1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*57
Petitioner was receiving a substantial amount of royalty income from the licensing of a patent on a process used in the synthetic fiber industry. Petitioner also had a substantial interest in a corporation that used this process in the conversion of synthetic fibers into fabrics. In 1961, the corporation made a shipment of defective fiber to a British corporation. Petitioner agreed to assume personally any loss to the British corporation resulting from this shipment and in 1962 sent his personal check in the amount of $ 30,000 to cover the loss.
48 T.C. 679">*679 The respondent determined a deficiency in the petitioners' income tax in the amount of $ 24,559.91 for the taxable 48 T.C. 679">*680 year 1962. The only issue for decision is whether a payment made by the petitioner to a customer of a corporation in which the petitioner had a substantial interest was an ordinary and necessary expense of a trade or business operated by the petitioner as a proprietorship.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts were stipulated, and those facts are so found.
The petitioners, James L. Lohrke and June M. Lohrke, are husband and wife who resided in West Chester, Pa., at the time the petition was filed in this case. They filed their joint Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1962 with the district director of internal revenue, Philadelphia, Pa. James L. Lohrke will be referred to as the petitioner.
The petitioner's father, James L. Lohrke, Sr., was an inventor, and during his lifetime, he developed several new ideas for processes in the textile-manufacturing field. Lohrke, Sr., was the owner of several patents, including one on the "Perlok" process for converting synthetic fibers in continuous filament1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*59 form (tow) into fibers of short length in strand form (top) comparable to natural fibers such as wool.
A few large chemical companies produce tow, which is sold to textile mills, where the tow is converted into top. The top is processed into yarn, and the yarn is then made into fabrics such as rayon, nylon, orlon, and dacron.
In the 1940's Lohrke, Sr., became associated with the Garth Manufacturing Co., a sole proprietorship owned by H. L. Garth. This relationship continued until the death of Lohrke, Sr., in 1949. Lohrke, Sr., used the Garth plant to develop and demonstrate the Perlok process. H. L. Garth operated the plant, and Lohrke, Sr., provided the necessary capital and handled sales. Profits were equally divided between the two.
Lohrke, Sr., died on July 27, 1949. Under the terms of his will, a trust was established, and his share of the royalty income from the licensing of the Perlok process was to be paid 50 percent to his surviving wife, later known as Mary M. Simpler, 25 percent to his daughter Lois L. Read, now known as Lois L. Ellison, and 25 percent to the petitioner, as income beneficiaries. The surviving wife and the petitioner were named executors and trustees1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*60 under the will.
From 1949 until 1964, when the Perlok process patent expired, the petitioner licensed companies in the United States and elsewhere to use the Perlok process. He conducted this activity as an executor and trustee under the will of Lohrke, Sr., between 1949 and 1959. In 1959 and 1960, he acted as the only general partner in a limited partnership known as the J. L. Lohrke Estate, to which the Perlok process patent had been assigned. At the dissolution of the limited partnership in 48 T.C. 679">*681 1960, the petitioner agreed to pay 55 percent of the gross royalty income to the former limited partners in return for their assignment to him of their interests in the patent, and he then conducted this activity in his individual capacity from 1960 to 1964. After paying such percentage to the former limited partners and the expenses of promoting the patent, the petitioner was entitled to the remaining royalty income.
The total royalty income produced annually by the licensing of the Perlok process during the period 1960 to 1964 was $ 233,751.04 for 1960, $ 469,543.62 for 1961, $ 463,461.80 for 1962, $ 448,831.11 for 1963, and $ 279,437.23 for 1964. Computed without regard to 1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*61 the payment which is the subject of this controversy, the petitioner's share of such income during these years was $ 74,170.52 for 1960, $ 156,323.90 for 1961, $ 172,648.28 for 1962, $ 145,778.36 for 1963, and $ 69,850.69 for 1964.
The petitioner has also been interested in a business using the Perlok process to manufacture top for sale. Between 1949 and 1955, the petitioner continued the same arrangements with H. L. Garth that his father had prior to 1949. This informal partnership was known as the J. L. Lohrke Co. and was formalized by the execution of a written partnership agreement on January 1, 1955. In March 1961, Lohrke Textiles, Inc. (Textiles), purchased the assets of the J. L. Lohrke Co. and took over all manufacturing and selling functions, which it has carried on to the date of the trial of this case. After March 1961, all of the outstanding shares of Textiles were owned by the J. L. Lohrke Co. The net profits and losses of the J. L. Lohrke Co. were distributable 61.3 percent to the petitioner, 25.8 percent to Mary M. Simpler, and 12.9 percent to Lois L. Read. A corporation was considered by the petitioner to be a better means of handling the manufacturing business1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*62 since, among other advantages, a corporation has unlimited life.
Textiles showed a net loss in the amount of $ 32,707.82 for its fiscal year ending in 1961, $ 80,045.57 for its fiscal year ending in 1962, $ 52,260.15 for its fiscal year ending in 1963, $ 5,903.23 for its fiscal year ending in 1964, and $ 15,174.05 for its fiscal year ending in 1965. The petitioner received income from Textiles in the amount of $ 6,202.42 in 1960 and no income in any of the years 1961 through 1965.
The petitioner has also invented new processes for use in the synthetic fiber industry. He now owns two new patents, one of which is a further invention relating to the basic Perlok process patented by Lohrke, Sr.
In 1961, Textiles entered into a business relationship with Francis Willey (Synthetics) Ltd. (Willey), for the purpose of promoting the sale of top in England. At that time, the sale of top by Textiles in both foreign and domestic markets had decreased from sales in prior years 48 T.C. 679">*682 because many foreign and domestic mills had become licensees of the Perlok process, transforming them from customers into competitors of Textiles.
As part of the business relationship between Willey and Textiles, 1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*63 Willey ordered top from DuPont United Kingdom, specifying Textiles as the processor. DuPont United Kingdom transmitted the orders to DuPont in Wilmington, Del., which then advised Textiles of such orders. After manufacturing an order of top, Textiles billed DuPont in Wilmington, which paid Textiles the amount due it. Ultimately, DuPont United Kingdom billed Willey for the order.
A shipment of defective top was made to Willey in the early summer of 1961. The defect was the result of a failure by Textiles to make normal quality-control checks, and the responsibility for the defective top rested upon Textiles. In a telephone conversation with A. W. J. Massam, a director of Willey, in the middle of July 1961, the petitioner was advised by Massam that Willey preferred to ship the top back to Textiles, but that Willey would accept both the top already delivered and the top still in transit and would pay DuPont if the petitioner would agree to be personally responsible for any loss Willey might suffer. Massam, at that time, was aware of the poor financial condition of Textiles inasmuch as in earlier discussions in England, the petitioner had told Massam and others at Willey that Textiles1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*64 needed to make sales in England because the success of the petitioner in licensing the Perlok process had made it difficult for Textiles to do a profitable business elsewhere. In that telephone conversation, the petitioner agreed to assume personal liability for any loss and later confirmed the agreement in a letter dated July 20, 1961.
The petitioner believed that if he did not agree to be personally liable for whatever losses Willey might sustain by accepting the top, his personal business future would be harmed. This belief was based in part on the realization that if Willey did not pay DuPont for the top, DuPont would have sought repayment from Textiles, which did not have sufficient cash. The petitioner feared that Textiles's involvement with DuPont over a defective shipment of top might become known to the entire synthetic fiber industry. The petitioner further did not want to lose the benefits that he, as a licensor and inventor, derived from having access to the manufacturing facilities of Textiles.
The petitioner did not attempt to distinguish his activities as licensor and inventor from his activities as president of Textiles to any members of the synthetic fibers industry. 1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*65 He described and used Textiles as a pilot plant and earlier advertised the J. L. Lohrke Co. as owner of the Perlok process patent. This was done partly to make clear to prospective licensees that Textile's evaluation of the Perlok process was not being given as an independent company. The petitioner 48 T.C. 679">*683 regularly offered samples of top processed by Textiles to prospective licensees. A total of 80 companies became licensees of the Perlok process, and 58 of this number had purchased top from Textiles or the J. L. Lohrke Co. before becoming licensees. Forty-six of the 80 licensees visited the Textiles plant to see the machinery needed for using the Perlok process in operation before entering into licensing agreements. The petitioner or his specially trained associate supervised and assisted the installation or repair of machinery for 71 of the licensees.
The petitioner believed that his interest in Textiles gave him a sufficiently intimate knowledge of trade activities for him to know whether companies were using the Perlok process without a license or whether licensees were paying inadequate royalties for the quantity of top they were producing.
Between July 1961 and July1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*66 1962, Willey attempted to sell the defective top in order to minimize the loss, but the attempt failed. Before the exact amount of the liability to Willey had been determined, Textiles paid Willey $ 10,000 in January and $ 10,000 in February of 1962. During this 2-month period, the petitioner made loans to Textiles in excess of $ 20,000.
By July 1962, Willey had determined the amount of the loss due to the defective top. Willey, on July 5, 1962, sent its invoice for the unpaid balance of the loss and a letter stating that unless the account were settled by by July 31, 1962, Willey would have to seek recovery of the amount owed through other channels. Both the invoice and the letter were addressed to "Lohrke Textiles Inc. and/or James L. Lohrke."
Textiles did not have sufficient cash to pay Willey, so the petitioner sent to Willey a check dated July 23, 1962, for $ 30,000 drawn on his personal royalty account. This payment satisfied the obligation to Willey.
The petitioner treated the $ 30,000 payment as an expense of his business as licensor of the Perlok process and in his income tax return charged such expense against royalties received. He treated the payment as a deductible1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*67 expense of his personal licensing business.
The petitioner sent his $ 30,000 check directly to Willey. No entries relating to such payment were ever made in Textile's books, and the other stockholders of Textiles were never consulted about the payment. The petitioner has never sought reimbursement from Textiles for the payment, and he did not intend that the payment to Willey should be a loan to Textiles.
The petitioner had made many loans to Textiles and its predecessor, the J. L. Lohrke Co., but with the exception of the two $ 10,000 loans in January and February of 1962, the loans have been used by Textiles48 T.C. 679">*684 to offset normal operating deficits. The petitioner had never loaned Textiles more than $ 12,000 at any one time, and all of the petitioner's loans were carried on Textile's books as loans from the petitioner. The other stockholders of Textiles were advised of these loans.
OPINION
This case presents us with the question of whether one person can deduct the expenses of another person. The obligation to pay for the defective shipment of top was primarily that of Textiles, and the respondent argues that for that reason, the payment was not an ordinary and necessary1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*68 expense of the trade or business of the petitioner and is not deductible by him. On the other hand, the petitioner contends that he made such payment in order to protect and further the trade or business of licensing the use of the Perlok patent and that accordingly, the payment is an ordinary and necessary expense of that business and is deductible by him. Both parties have treated the petitioner's patent licensing activity as constituting a trade or business.
A business expense, to be deductible under
The general rule was reiterated by the Supreme Court in
1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*70 As in the case of most general rules, an exception to this one has been developed. In a number of cases, the courts have allowed deductions 48 T.C. 679">*685 when the expenditures were made by a taxpayer to protect or promote his own business, even though the transaction giving rise to the expenditures originated with another person and would have been deductible by that person if payment had been made by him. See, e.g.,
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On the other hand, the respondent calls our attention to several cases in which the courts have denied an individual a deduction when he made payments on behalf of another person.
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A review of these cases leads us to conclude that in some situations an individual may deduct the expenses of another person. Although the respondent contends that the later cases of
Now let us apply these rules to the case before us. We must determine whether the petitioner's ultimate purpose in paying Textiles' obligation was to keep Textiles in existence, thereby perhaps realizing a return on his payment through corporate profits, or whether his purpose was to protect or promote his own business, realizing a return on his payment through continued profits in that business.
We must first make clear that, in our view of the case, the petitioner is not attempting to disregard the corporate entity of Textiles. The petitioner and Textiles are separate taxable entities, and ordinarily the expenses of one such entity are not the expenses of the other. However, our question here is whether there may be, and are present here, special circumstances whereby the obligation to Willey was the expense of whichever entity paid the obligation. For this reason, 48 T.C. 679">*689
The1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*81 petitioner was in 1961 and 1962 receiving very large amounts of royalty income from the licensing of the Perlok process. He personally undertook to protect Willey against any loss from its receipt of defective top from Textiles. According to his testimony, he made this promise in 1961 and the payment in 1962 in order to protect his individual licensing business and to prevent a diminution of his royalty income. In the petitioner's opinion, his failure to assume this obligation would have adversely affected his licensing business because of the harm that would have resulted to his own reputation in trade circles.
The respondent points to a number of facts in this case that support the view that the petitioner, in paying the obligation to Willey, was making a capital contribution to Textiles. The petitioner voluntarily created Textiles as a corporation. Textiles took over the business of the J. L. Lohrke partnership in 1961. Textiles operated at a loss in each of its fiscal years ending 1961 through 1965, and the petitioner made many loans to Textiles and the J. L. Lohrke Co. These facts tend to show that Textiles was in need of additional capital, and the payment of a corporation's1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*82 expenses is one way to provide capital. In addition, the petitioner was a 60-percent stockholder of Textiles. While any contribution by the petitioner to Textiles' capital would inure partly to the benefit of other stockholders, the petitioner would be the primary beneficiary.
The petitioner realistically could have anticipated little or no return from a capital contribution to Textiles, at least in the near future. Textiles had no profits, and the petitioner's efforts to license the Perlok process decreased the likelihood of any future profits. In this respect, the present case is distinguishable from the
We are inclined to believe that the petitioner's primary motive was the protection of his licensing business. That business was providing him with a substantial income, and therefore, we can believe him when he says that he acted to protect that business. On the contrary, Textiles was unprofitable, and the prospects were that it would remain so. Thus, we think that the most likely explanation is that he acted to protect his profitable individual business.
We find that the petitioner's purpose in making the $ 30,000 payment to Willey was to protect his own personal1967 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 57">*83 licensing business and that the payment was proximately related to that business. Accordingly, the petitioner is entitled to deduct the $ 30,000 payment as an ordinary and necessary expense of carrying on his business of licensing the Perlok process.
1. All statutory references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.↩