Becker v. Anchor Realty & Investment Co.

71 F.2d 355, 14 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 274, 1934 U.S. App. LEXIS 3086, 1934 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) 9300, 14 A.F.T.R. (RIA) 274
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedMay 10, 1934
DocketNo. 9799
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 71 F.2d 355 (Becker v. Anchor Realty & Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Becker v. Anchor Realty & Investment Co., 71 F.2d 355, 14 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 274, 1934 U.S. App. LEXIS 3086, 1934 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) 9300, 14 A.F.T.R. (RIA) 274 (8th Cir. 1934).

Opinion

WYMAN, District Judge.

This suit was instituted in the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Missouri by the Anchor Realty & Investment Company, a Corporation, Plaintiff, v. Louis J. Becker, Collector of Internal Revenue, Defendant, for the recovery of $11 123.90, together with interest thereon, alleged to have been erroneously assessed and exacted from the plaintiff company by the defendant collector as a deficiency tax upon a gain of $92,699.23, alleged to have resulted from the sale of certain real property. By agreement of parties, trial by jury was waived, and the case was tried to the court, and on April 8, 1933, the court rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant in the sum of $12,181.82. Thereafter on April 22, 1933, upon the joint motion of the attorneys for the respective parties, an amended judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiff in tho sum of $12;208.23, besides costs taxed at the sum of $17.35. The ease comes to this court by appeal from the amended judgment thus entered.

At the outset of our consideration of the case we are met with a motion to dismiss the appeal interposed by the appellee. In support of this motion it is asserted that tho appeal is from the judgment entered on April 22, 1933; that this judgment was entered by consent and upon the joint request of the parties to the suit, and it is urged that neither party can appeal from a consent judgment. The contention of the appellee that the judgment appealed from is a consent judgment [356]*356is without support in the record. The original judgment entered on the 8th day of April, 1933, was the result of a trial in open court, where the issues were contested in good faith by the parties, and the record conclusively shows that the amended judgment was entered upon the joint application of the parties for the sole purpose of correcting an error in computation of interest which was included as a part of the original judgment. There is nothing in the record which could be regarded as consent on the part of the appellant to the entry of judgment against him. At most, his action constitutes merety a request that the judgment already entered be amended to correct an error therein concerning which there was no dispute. The motion to dismiss is without merit and is therefore denied.

There appears to be no dispute as to the material facts involved in the ease, which may be stated as" follows: W. L. Balsón, a resident of the state of Missouri, died .December 4, 1944, possessed of certain real property consisting, in part, of a tract of ground and buildings located thereon, in St. Louis, Mo. He left surviving his widow, Ella S. Balsón, six children, and two grandchildren. The widow died February 6, 1929. W. L. Balsón left a will by the terms of which certain real and personal’property, ineluding the property involved in this ease, was to be conveyed to certain trustees named therein, to be by them held during the life of the testator’s wife, Ella S. Balsón, and then to be distributed to his children and grandchildren. Under the terms of the will, the income from the property was first to be used -to pay the sum of $150 a month to the widow for her life and the balance of the income was to be distributed per stirpes among the other beneficiaries. Upon the death of the widow the trust was to be terminated and the property distributed to the surviving beneficiaries. Upon the admission of the will to probate the executors and trustees named therein took possession of the property and proceeded to administer the estate, which was finally settled on January 16, 1918, after which date said trustees continued in possession and control of the estate until July 12,1920, after the death of Ella S. Balsón, when the trust was termi.nated and the estate distributed to the legatees and devisees under the terms of the will.

The plaintiff corporation was organized under the laws of the state of Missouri on June 28, 1929, with a capital stock of 3,290 shares of no par value, with its principal place of business at St. Louis, Mo. On August 24, 1929, the plaintiff corporation took title to and possession of the property involved in this suit under and by virtue of separate deeds of conveyance from the devisees under the will of Balsón. In consideration of the conveyance of the property to the plaintiff corporation, plaintiff issued to .the grantors its 3,299 shares of capital stock. On January 3,1930, plaintiff sold the property involved in this case for a consideration of $170,000. The fair market value of the property on July 12,19291, the date on which it was distributed to plaintiff’s grantors, was the same as the price for which it was sold on January 3, 1930. In making its income tax return for the year 1930', plaintiff treated the property as having been acquired by its grantors on July 12, 1929, the date of distribution, and as having the same value on that date as it had on the date of its sale in 1930, which resulted in a showing of no gain or loss from the transaction. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue directed an audit and review to be made of the return thus filed, and thereafter determined that the plaintiff had received additional taxable income in the year 1930 by reason of the gain arising from the sale by plaintiff of the property in question, and determined that an additional tax was due from the plaintiff in the sum of $11,123.90. The deficiency in tax so determined, together with interest in the sum of .$364.80, was assessed against the plaintiff by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on March 12, 1932, and certified to the defendant collector for collection, and on March 22, 1932, the tax and accrued interest was paid by the plaintiff company.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue in his determination of the amount of additional tax computed the gain from the sale of the property in question by using its value on December 4,1914, the date of the death of the testator, W. L. Balsón, as a basis, and it appears from the record that at that time the reasonable market value .of the property was $85,000.

The sole question presented by the appeal is whether or not a taxable gain resulted from the sale of the real estate involved, and, as there is no dispute as to the facts, the answer to this question depends entirely upon whether the value at the date of the death of the testator or the value at the date of distribution under the will is to be used as the basis for the determination of gain.

The law controlling the situation thus presented is set forth in the Revenue Act of 1928, 45 Stat. 818, § 113 (a) (USCA, title 26, [357]*357§ 2113 (a), subdivision 5 of which, in so far as the same is applicable to the question under consideration, reads as follows:

“(5) Property transmitted at death. If personal property was acquired by specific bequest, or if real property was acquired by general or specific devise or by intestacy, the basis shall be the fair market value of the property at the time of the death of the decedent. If the property was acquired by the decedent’s estate from the decedent, the basis in the hands of the estate shall he the fair market value of the property at the time of the death of the decedent. In all other cases if the property was acquired either by will or by intestacy, tlie basis shall be the fair market value of the property at the time of the distribution to the taxpayer.”

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Bluebook (online)
71 F.2d 355, 14 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 274, 1934 U.S. App. LEXIS 3086, 1934 U.S. Tax Cas. (CCH) 9300, 14 A.F.T.R. (RIA) 274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/becker-v-anchor-realty-investment-co-ca8-1934.