Adams v. Commissioner

44 B.T.A. 408, 1941 BTA LEXIS 1335
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedMay 6, 1941
DocketDocket No. 98106.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 44 B.T.A. 408 (Adams v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams v. Commissioner, 44 B.T.A. 408, 1941 BTA LEXIS 1335 (bta 1941).

Opinion

opinion.

Disney :

This proceeding involves an appeal from a determination of deficiencies in income tax for the taxable years 1934 and 1935 in [409]*409the amounts of $3,950.58 and $125.11, respectively. The question for determination is whether there should be included in petitioner’s income certain proceeds of the sale of corporate stock by the trustees of a trust of which the petitioner was a beneficiary.

The petition assigned errors, in substance, as follows:

(a) The inclusion by the respondent in petitioner’s taxable income for the year 1934 of any part of the proceeds from the sale of 6,800 shares of American Eadiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation common stock, sold by the trustees of a trust of which petitioner is a life beneficiary.
(b) The inclusion in petitioner’s taxable income for the year 1934 of the sum of $3,380.16, as being income from the aforementioned trust, distributable to petitioner as a life tenant thereof, in the year 1934.
(c) The inclusion in petitioner’s taxable income for the year 1935 of any part of the proceeds from the sale of 400 shares of American Eadiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation common stock sold by the trustees, for the petitioner.
(d) The inclusion in petitioner’s taxable income for the year 1935 of the sum of $199.92 as being income from the aforementioned trust, distributable to petitioner as a life tenant thereof in the year 1935.

The facts stipulated, including the joint exhibits, are adopted as a part of our findings of fact. The stipulated facts, so far as pertinent to consideration of the issues, may be summarized as follows:

The petitioner is a widow and resides at 940 Beaver Street, Sewick-ley, Pennsylvania. Petitioner’s returns for the calendar years 1934 and 1935 were filed with the collector of internal revenue at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her books were kept and her returns made for the taxable years involved on the basis of cash receipts and disbursements. Her father, James W. Arrott, died December 29, 1902, leaving a last will and testament dated July 10,1902, which was duly probated before the Eegister of Wills of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

James W. Arrott, the testator, left surviving him as his next of kin his widow, four sons, and two daughters and appointed his wife and sons executors and trustees under his will. Subsequently, the Union Trust Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and two of his sons became the trustees of the trust, one son later resigning. The testator in his will made separate but identical trust provisions for his two daughters, Jennie Arrott Adams, petitioner herein, and Isabel Arrott Eider, mentioned in the Orphans’ Court proceedings of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, hereinafter described. The seventh paragraph of the will of the testator provided in part:

One of said shares, less the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars, I give, devise and bequeath to my executors hereinafter named, the survivor and successor of them, In Trust, for my daughter, Jennie, to invest the principal in good and approved interest-bearing securities and pay over the interest to her, [410]*410my said daughter, as same is got in and received, for and during the term of her natural life, said interest or income not to be liable or subject in any manner to attachment or seizure for any debt or debts of her, my said daughter, nor to be assigned, transferred, pledged or parted with by way of anticipation, and upon her death to divide the said share equally among any children of hers, should she die leaving children who may then survive her, the issue of any deceased child to represent and take the share of such deceased child; and in the event of her death without leaving child or children or the issue of any deceased child, then surviving her, then to divide the said corpus or principal equally among her then surviving brothers and sisters and the issue of any who may then be deceased, such issue also to represent and take the share of their deceased parent.

An identical provision was made for the decedent’s daughter, Isabel Arrott Rider. The trustees received the stock in 1910. Subsequently a stock dividend of 100 percent in 1920, of 40 percent in 1922, and of 25 percent in 1925, and a change of corporate name and structure of the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Co., resulted in the trustees holding for petitioner’s trust a total of 52,569 shares of American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation stock, by 1929.

About October 1, 1925, the trustees for petitioner filed their second trustees’ account in the Orphans’ Court of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The account covered the administration of the trust for the period June 13, 1916, to approximately the date of its filing. The account contained, under the heading “Principal—Receipts”, entries relating to the 100 percent stock dividend received in 1920 and the 40 percent stock dividend received in 1922, but indicated the value by zero marks; and contained no entry as to the 25 percent stock dividend received in 1925, though the number of shares of stock received in 1925 was included in the number of shares shown in the “Principal” balance. An audit statement as to the account, also filed, recited, among other things, that the income from the trust during the period covered by the account, except the balance shown as on hand, had been paid to the beneficiary, the petitioner herein, and that “There is no distribution to be made on this accounting either of principal or income, this account being filed for the purpose of having the administration of this trust for the period covered in said account confirmed by the Court. There are no questions raised in connection with the administration of this trust”; also, “The Court is respectfully requested to decree the balance both of income and principal as shown in the account back to the accountant for the purposes specified in the will of James W. Arrott, deceased.” The account was confirmed absolutely by a decree of the Orphans’ Court dated March 2, 1926, and the principal balance shown by the account, including stock dividends of 1920, 1922, and 1925, “was awarded back to the trustees,”

The record at the time when the account was presented to the court for audit contains, among other recitations, the following;

[411]*411By the Court: Oughtn’t that interest to be represented? .... Oughtn’t you to do that? This is a large amount of money. I have not stopped to look at the provisions of Mr. Arrott’s will or where this goes.

The decree recited that the funds in the hands of the accountant be paid in accordance with the schedule of distribution attached, and the schedule recited:

Balance for distribution
To James W. Arrott, Jr., Albert E. Arrott and The Union Trust Co. of Pittsburgh, Trustees in trust for Jennie Arrott Adams, for the purposes specified in Item 7 of will, said balance, viz.
Corpus, Cash & Securities, per Account-$180,496. 63
Income, Cash- 2,107. 57

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Related

Craig v. United States
69 F. Supp. 229 (W.D. Pennsylvania, 1946)
Clegg v. Commissioner
47 B.T.A. 934 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1942)
Balzereit v. Commissioner
46 B.T.A. 959 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1942)
Adams v. Commissioner
44 B.T.A. 408 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1941)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 B.T.A. 408, 1941 BTA LEXIS 1335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-v-commissioner-bta-1941.