1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*102
Petitioners acquired a joint life interest in a percentage of the income from an estate trust in exchange for their transfer to the trust of certain shares of stock transferred to them by decedent outside her probate estate.
52 T.C. 560">*560 Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners' Federal income tax of $ 8,533.62 for 1964 and $ 7,669.87 for 1965. Petitioners have alleged in their petition overpayments of $ 2,285.16 for 1964 and $ 3,334.17 for 1965.
The principal question is whether petitioners have an amortizable cost basis in a joint life interest in a percentage of the income from an estate trust acquired in exchange for their transfer to the trust of certain shares of stock transferred to them by decedent outside her probate estate. If we answer the question affirmatively, we must further decide whether the amortized cost is allowable as a deduction to the extent allocable to tax-exempt interest income.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.
Allen M. Early (herein called petitioner) and Jeannette B. Early (herein called Jeannette) are husband and wife, who 1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*106 resided in Dallas, 52 T.C. 560">*561 Tex., at the time they filed their petition herein. Their joint Federal income tax returns for the years 1964 and 1965 were filed with the district director of internal revenue at Dallas, Tex.
Petitioner has been a practicing certified public accountant for many years. In 1949 he was employed by the Creslenn Oil Co. as office manager and accountant for its Dallas Office. The Creslenn Oil Co. operated certain oil properties jointly with Sam N. Van Wert, a friend of the president of the company, and provided him office space and bookkeeping services for a monthly charge. As accountant for the Creslenn Oil Co., petitioner maintained the books and records of Sam N. Van Wert.
In 1954 Sam N. Van Wert died, leaving most of his estate, which consisted of oil properties and a substantial number of stocks and bonds, to his widow, Rose S. Van Wert (herein called Rose). The Creslenn Oil Co., through petitioner, continued to keep the books and records for Rose, charging her monthly for the service. Her stock certificates, deeds, and bonds, as well as her books and records, were in petitioner's possession.
The petitioners and the Van Werts were friends from the1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*107 time petitioner became employed with the Creslenn Oil Co.
On November 11, 1957, petitioner prepared a number of stock powers covering 70,000 shares of El Paso Natural Gas Co. stock (referred to herein collectively as the El Paso stock) owned by Rose, naming petitioner as transferee of 50,000 of the shares and Jeannette as transferee of the remaining 20,000 shares. Rose's signatures on the powers were guaranteed to be authentic by a bank official. The powers contained no reservations. The substance of this transaction was not divulged to others during Rose's life.
In 1958 petitioner prepared and filed a Federal gift tax return for Rose for the taxable year 1957 listing total gifts of $ 5,818.34, consisting of certain stock and debenture rights, not including the El Paso stock, transferred to petitioner.
Rose died on August 12, 1958, leaving a will with codicil in which four specific bequests were made. Dr. William N. Fuqua, Jr., who was Rose's long-time personal physician, and his wife were given Rose's home and personal effects, a maid was given $ 75,000, petitioner was given $ 10,000, and petitioners were given $ 10,000 in trust for their son. Relatives "in blood or law" of 1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*108 Rose were specifically excluded from any bequest or devise. The residue of her estate was transferred in trust with the income to go to the Fuquas during their lives and the life of the survivor, with the remainder in equal parts to Southwestern Medical Foundation and Salesmanship Club Boys Camp, both charitable organizations.
At the time of Rose's death, petitioner was in possession of the El Paso stock and the stock powers covering it, over which he and Jeannette 52 T.C. 560">*562 claimed ownership through an inter vivos gift from Rose in 1957, which had been subject to a life interest retained by Rose in the income from the stock.
The will and codicil, which were filed for probate in Dallas County, Tex., were contested by some 44 persons claiming to be Rose's heirs, absent a will, upon the grounds that Rose lacked testamentary capacity at the time of their execution or that they were signed by reason of undue influence by some of the beneficiaries. In addition, certain contestants and beneficiaries objected to the retention of the El Paso stock by petitioners and threatened to bring suit to have the stock declared an asset of the estate.
In November 1959 all interested parties executed1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*109 a settlement agreement under which petitioners agreed to transfer all the El Paso stock to the estate in exchange for 32 percent of the income from the entire estate for the life of petitioner, less $ 4,000 per year for the first 4 years, and after his death 32 percent of the income to Jeannette, if she survived him, for her life. The stock powers were declared null and void and were destroyed by petitioner. Petitioners paid a legal fee of $ 20,000 in connection with this settlement.
The El Paso stock surrendered to the Estate of Rose S. Van Wert (sometimes referred to herein as the estate) by petitioners had a fair market value at the date of transfer of $ 32.6875 per share, or a total valuation of $ 2,288,125. Their value was included in the gross estate of Rose in the return filed by her estate as a transfer by gift with the retention of the income for life. Petitioner was designated by Rose and was appointed as coexecutor of her estate.
On January 12, 1960, the estate filed an amended gift tax return for Rose for the taxable year 1957 reporting the full value of the El Paso stock as a taxable gift in that year and paying a gift tax of $ 341,898.78. On October 27, 1961, the1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*110 estate filed a claim for refund of the entire amount paid with the amended return. In settlement of the claim, petitioner, as coexecutor of the estate, and the estate tax examiner agreed that for tax purposes Rose made a completed gift to petitioners in 1957, the value of which should be measured by the actuarial value of the life estate ultimately received by them. As a result of this agreement, a refund of gift tax of $ 180,717.49 was made to the estate.
The administration of the estate was completed on January 31, 1961, at which time all assets were delivered to the trustee of the trust provided for by the will and petitioners began receiving the income according to the settlement agreement. The El Paso stock comprised about 53 percent of the corpus of the trust.
In 1961 petitioner's age was 47 and Jeannette's age was 46. Based upon respondent's actuarial tables, petitioners had a joint expected life of 31.16 years.
52 T.C. 560">*563 In their Federal income tax returns for the years 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965, petitioners claimed amortization of a cost basis of the life estates in the Estate of Rose S. Van Wert, computed as follows:
Value of life estate | $ 716,919.91 |
Legal fees | 20,000.00 |
Total basis | 736,919.91 |
Expected life (years) | 31.16 |
Annual amortization | 23,649.54 |
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*111 The amortization was apportioned between taxable income and nontaxable interest, and the amounts apportioned to nontaxable interest were not claimed as a deduction on their Federal income tax returns. The apportionment was as follows:
Amount | |||
Amortization | allocated to | ||
Total | deducted | nontaxable | |
Year | amortization | in return | interest and not |
claimed as a | |||
deduction | |||
1961 | $ 23,649.54 | $ 21,968.84 | $ 1,680.70 |
1962 | 23,649.54 | 19,904.70 | 3,744.84 |
1963 | 23,649.54 | 12,622.09 | 11,027.45 |
1964 | 23,649.54 | 17,748.56 | 5,900.98 |
1965 | 23,649.54 | 16,515.46 | 7,134.08 |
During the years 1961 to 1965, inclusive, the petitioners received taxable and nontaxable income from the Rose S. Van Wert Trust as follows:
Total | Less | Taxable | |
Year | income | nontaxable | income |
received | interest | received | |
1961 | $ 41,315.32 | $ 2,016.17 | $ 39,299.15 |
1962 | 29,530.37 | 4,694.21 | 24,836.16 |
1963 | 31,981.61 | 14,925.21 | 17,056.40 |
1964 | 62,307.85 | 15,585.33 | 46,722.52 |
1965 | 53,843.42 | 16,272.20 | 37,571.22 |
Petitioners alleged in their petition that they improperly allocated a portion of the amortized cost to nontaxable income and claim that such cost is deductible in1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*112 full.
OPINION
Respondent argues that the receipt by petitioners of the life estate pursuant to the settlement with the estate was tantamount, under the rationale of
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*113 Petitioner possessed on the date of Rose's death certificates representing 70,000 shares of El Paso stock and endorsed stock powers covering the shares naming petitioner and Jeannette as transferees. Under the Uniform Stock Transfer Act, 2 a written assignment by separate document is a valid method of transfer, and an endorsement by the person appearing by the certificate to be the owner is effectual as against all persons except the assignor in spite of fraud, duress, mistake, revocation, death, incapacity, or lack of consideration or authority. Moreover, it has been held that possession by the endorsee or his agent of duly endorsed stock certificates establishes prima facie that the transferee has good title to the stock as against the assignor or his representative.
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*114 It is clear that petitioners held the El Paso stock under a bona fide claim of title and possessed the right to transfer it to a purchaser without notice free of all claim by Rose's Estate.
In
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*116 In
In our opinion petitioners acquired their joint percentage life estates through the sale or exchange of property, and not by gift, bequest or inheritance.
Respondent did not determine in the notice of deficiency, plead in the answer, or make any argument in the brief that the transaction, if characterized as a "sale or exchange," resulted in a gain to petitioners and, in effect, concedes that the properties exchanged should be deemed to be of equal value resulting in a "cost" to them, for purposes of amortization, of the actuarial value, as of the date of transfer, of the life estate received. 3 Petitioners properly added the $ 20,000 legal 52 T.C. 560">*566 fee incurred by them in the settlement proceedings to this value in determining "cost."
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*118 It is well established that the cost of purchasing a life estate measured by the life of the grantor is amortizable over his life expectancy.
Since petitioner's life estate constitutes property held for the production of income, its amortized cost is deductible under
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*119 A portion of the trust income paid to petitioners during the years 1964 and 1965 constituted taxable income and the remainder constituted tax-exempt interest income. Under the plain, unambiguous provisions of
It is not disputed that the amortized cost is deductible, if at all, under
We are not called upon to interpret a necessarily ambiguous phrase such as "capital assets,"
We conclude that petitioners are entitled to a depreciation1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*121 deduction during the years in issue under
Withey,
52 T.C. 560">*568 Scott,
This view is not only consistent with the settlement of Rose's gift tax liability for 1957, which petitioner agreed to as coexecutor of the estate, but might also explain why no issue was raised as to petitioner's basis for determining gain or loss on the exchange of the stock for the life income interest in the estate, if the transaction is to be treated as an exchange.
Tannenwald,
Such a rationale, in my opinion, misconceives the applicability of
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*125 52 T.C. 560">*569 In the instant case, the original transfer was claimed to be a gift. Petitioners' claim stemmed from their asserted standing as donees and that standing was the basis for the financial recognition accorded to them by the settlement. To paraphrase what the Second Circuit Court of Appeals said in
There is not the slightest suggestion in the record herein that the dispute between Early and the contestants of decedent's will was other than bona fide. Cf.
The cases relied upon by the majority are clearly distinguishable.
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*128 I can see no escape from the conclusion that the petitioners herein acquired their life interests under the circumstances designated in
Since, under my view, petitioners are not entitled to any amortization, I am not required to reach the second issue involved herein, namely, whether it is necessary for petitioners to allocate the amortization allowed between taxable income and taxable interest income. I am constrained to note, however, that I also disagree with the majority conclusion on this issue.
The difference between depreciation and amortization is one which has not been the subject of precise analysis in the decided cases. See, e.g.,
From the foregoing, it appears that where the deduction is determined by the useful life of the underlying property it should be taken 52 T.C. 560">*571 by way of depreciation under
Certain language in
1969 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 102">*132 The question then is, what section should govern? If petitioners' cost had been incurred in connection with a "trade or business," the applicable section would be section 162. But petitioners were not so engaged and, since their life interests were held for the production of income, we must necessarily look to
52 T.C. 560">*572 Since
1. All statutory references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 unless otherwise indicated.
Amounts paid under the laws of a State, a Territory, the District of Columbia, a possession of the United States, or a foreign country as income to the holder of a life or terminable interest acquired by gift, bequest, or inheritance shall not be reduced or diminished by any deduction for shrinkage (by whatever name called) in the value of such interest due to the lapse of time.↩
2.
3. By way of settlement under the Federal gift tax provisions, respondent determined that Rose made a gift to petitioners in 1957, the value of which should be measured by the actuarial value of the life estate ultimately received by them.↩
4.
(a) General Rule. -- There shall be allowed as a depreciation deduction a reasonable allowance for the exhaustion, wear and tear (including a reasonable allowance for obsolescence) -- * * * * (2) of property held for the production of income.↩
5.
No deduction shall be allowed for -- (1) Expenses. -- Any amount otherwise allowable as a deduction which is allocable to one or more classes of income other than interest (whether or not any amount of income of that class or classes is received or accrued) wholly exempt from the taxes imposed by this subtitle, or any amount otherwise allowable under
6.
In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year -- (1) for the production or collection of income; (2) for the management, conservation, or maintenance of property held for the production of income; or (3) in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax.↩
1. The fact that
2. Compare also the terms of the Supreme Court's remand in
3. The majority opinion herein states that, "It is not disputed that the amortized cost is deductible, if at all, under