B. C. Cook & Sons, Inc. v. Commissioner

65 T.C. 422, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedDecember 1, 1975
DocketDocket No. 1009-74
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 65 T.C. 422 (B. C. Cook & Sons, Inc. v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
B. C. Cook & Sons, Inc. v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 422, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23 (tax 1975).

Opinions

OPINION

Sterrett, Judge:

The respondent determined deficiencies in petitioner’s Federal income taxes for the fiscal years ended September 30, 1958, September 30, 1959, September 30, 1960, and September 30, 1961. The only issue in controversy is whether respondent is entitled to adjust petitioner’s Federal income tax liability for those years pursuant to sections 1311 through 1314.

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts, together with the exhibits attached thereto, are incorporated herein by this reference.

B. C. Cook & Sons, Inc. (hereinafter petitioner), is a Florida corporation, with its principal office in Haines City, Fla. Its corporate income tax returns for its fiscal years ended September 30, 1958, September 30, 1959, September 30, 1960, and September 30, 1961, were filed with the District Director of Internal Revenue for the District of Florida.

At all times pertinent hereto, petitioner was engaged in the business of acquiring citrus fruit for distribution to processing plants.

During its fiscal year ended September 30, 1965, petitioner discovered that an employee had embezzled substantial sums of money over a period of years extending at least from 1958 through 1965.

Petitioner had hired the employee as a bookkeeper at the time the corporation was organized in November 1956. He was authorized, among other things, to write checks, to place them before a corporate officer for signature, and to record expenditures in the corporate books of account. In this capacity he prepared checks to pay for fruit purchases.

Commencing at least with a check dated January 20,1958, and continuing at least through January 11, 1965, the employee caused checks to be drawn on petitioner’s bank account to J. C. Jackson, a fictitious name used by the employee. The employee deposited the checks in a local bank to an account styled J. C. Jackson, which was in reality owned by him, and he ultimately received the proceeds of the checks.

The checks to J. C. Jackson were reflected on petitioner’s books as payments for fruit purchases. In fact, no fruit was ever purchased from J. C. Jackson or the employee and none was at any time physically included in petitioner’s inventory.

On its income tax returns for the fiscal years ended September 30,1958, through September 30, 1965, petitioner reflected fruit purchases, in computing its costs of goods sold and/or cost of operations, as follows:

Fiscal year Amount Fiscal year Amount

1958 _ $5,921,077 1962 _ $8,489,741

1959 _ 12,680,523 1963 _ 6,892,574

1960 _ 8,774,972 1964 _ 14,556,888

1961 _ 12,120,781 1965 _ 9,783,091

The checks to J. C. Jackson were included in these amounts, with the exception of the 1965 fiscal year on which return petitioner claimed the entire embezzlement loss as a deduction under section 165,1.R.C. 1954.1

As a result of including the checks to J. C. Jackson in its cost of goods sold and/or in its cost of operations, petitioner’s gross income for each taxable year involved was understated by the amount of the checks drawn in each of such years, and its taxable income was similarly understated in each of such years.

The amounts known to have been embezzled in each of petitioner’s fiscal years 1958 through 1965 are as follows:

1958 _ $49,750.00 1962 _ $103,250.00

1959 _ 107,150.00 1963 _ 100,087.50

1960 _ 111,750.00 1964 _ 165,625.00

1961 _ 132,750.00 1965 _ 101,850.00

$872,212.50

Additional amounts may or may not have been embezzled from petitioner.

Of the total amount of $872,212.50 known to have been embezzled, petitioner recovered from the employee the amount of $254,595.98 during its 1965 fiscal year.

On its income tax return filed for the fiscal year 1965, petitioner claimed as a deduction an embezzlement loss in the amount of $605,116.52, computed as follows:

Fiscal year Amount of loss

1968_ $37,250.00

1959_ 107,150.00

1960_ 111,750.00

1961_ 132,750.00

1962_ 103,250.00

1963_ 100,087.50

1964— 165,625.00

1965— 101,850,00

Total_ 859,712.50

Less recovery 254,595.98

Loss claimed. 605,116.52

The amount of loss so claimed corresponds with the amount of the aforementione'd checks except for the fiscal year 1958. For that year the checks totaled $49,750 rather than the amount of $37,250 as set out on petitioner’s return filed for its 1965 fiscal year. This is a difference of $12,500 and is represented by check number 1515 in that amount issued on March 3, 1958, to J. C. Jackson.

The embezzlement loss for the 1965 fiscal year was not added to petitioner’s cost of goods sold in that year but rather was claimed as a deduction under section 165.

The return filed by petitioner for its 1965 fiscal year reflected a net operating loss in the amount of $383,923.65. Of this amount, $17,567 was deducted as a net operating loss carryback to its 1962 fiscal year; $118,490 was deducted as a net operating loss carryback to its 1963 fiscal year; and $247,867 was deducted as a net operating loss carryback to its 1964 fiscal year.

In a prior statutory notice of deficiency issued to petitioner on November 6, 1970, with respect to the fiscal years ended September 30, 1962, to September 30, 1965, inclusive, respondent determined that the deduction of $605,116.52, claimed as an embezzlement loss on petitioner’s return filed for its 1965 fiscal year was not allowable to the extent of $388,900. The amount disallowed by respondent was attributable to embezzlements in the following fiscal years and in the following amounts:

1958_ $37,250 1960_$111,750

1959_ 107,150 1961_ 132,750

$388,900

These are the years and amounts involved in the instant proceeding.

At the time respondent issued his prior statutory notice of deficiency, he was barred by section 6501 from assessing and collecting additional income taxes for petitioner’s fiscal years 1958 through 1961, except insofar as sections 1311 through 1315 might have been applicable.

On January 28, 1971, petitioner filed a timely petition with this Court seeking a redetermination of respondent’s determination. The petition and proceeding were assigned docket No. 692-71.

The opinion of this Court in that matter was filed on December 29, 1972, and is reported at 59 T.C. 516 (1972). The decision therein, allowing the deduction for the embezzlement loss, was entered on February 2,1973; the appeal period expired on May 3, 1973, and no appeal was taken from such decision.

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Bluebook (online)
65 T.C. 422, 1975 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/b-c-cook-sons-inc-v-commissioner-tax-1975.