Bonaire Development Co. v. Commissioner

76 T.C. 789, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 129
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 14, 1981
DocketDocket No. 4396-69
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 76 T.C. 789 (Bonaire Development Co. 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
Bonaire Development Co. v. Commissioner, 76 T.C. 789, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 129 (tax 1981).

Opinion

OPINION

Scott, Judge:

Respondent has determined that petitioner is liable as transferee of the assets of Branjon, Inc., which, in turn, was transferee of the assets of N & V Realty Corp., for a deficiency in the Federal income tax of N & V Realty Corp. for the taxable year 1964 in the amount of $3,748.01. Petitioner admitted in its amended petition that it is the transferee of the assets of N & V Realty Corp. and Branjon, Inc.1 The issues for decision are: (1) Whether a cash basis corporation recognizes income to the extent of fees paid for management services to be rendered for the remainder of the year following its liquidation and distribution of the property to which the services relate; and (2) whether the depreciation recapture provisions apply to a liquidating corporation and, if so, the correct amount of such recapture.

All of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly-

Bonaire Development Co. (Bonaire or petitioner) is a corporation organized under the laws of California, and its address was Ojai, Calif., at the time of the filing of the petition in this case. N & V Realty Corp. (N & V), the taxpayer against which the deficiency was levied, filed its return for the taxable year 1964 with the District Director of Internal Revenue, Los Angeles, Calif.

N & Y was incorporated on April 15,1963, by Simon and Mina Lazarus (Lazarus), husband and wife, under the laws of California. N & V filed its Federal income tax returns on the cash basis method of accounting and it was a calendar year taxpayer. Subsequently, Lazarus transferred a shopping center (Fox shopping center), including the Fox Markets building, to N & V in exchange for all issued shares of stock of the company. The exchange was a nontaxable exchange under section 351, I.R.C. 1954.2

The development of this shopping center began in 1955, when Lazarus purchased, along with three associates, an 18-acre tract of unimproved property in Los Angeles County, Calif. Shortly thereafter and following a condemnation of 8 of such acres by the county for the construction of a new high school, Lazarus entered into negotiations with a California corporation, Fox Markets, for the building of a market and shopping center on the tract. It was planned that a Fox Markets branch would form the nucleus of a shopping center which would contain numerous other smaller businesses. Lazarus was able to obtain the necessary financing, and construction of the shopping center began in 1958. It was completed the following year, and Fox Markets took occupancy as the principal lessee early in 1959. Thereafter, Lazarus became the sole owner of the Fox shopping center, having purchased his associates’ interest.

On December 18, 1963, Lazarus incorporated Lazarus Realty Co. (Realty) under the laws of California. Simon Lazarus was the president of Realty and Mina Lazarus was the vice president. Realty immediately entered into a contract with N & V whereby Realty agreed to manage the Fox shopping center property. At the time of the agreement, the Fox shopping center included 1 supermarket and 11 stores occupied by lessees. The agreement called for N & V to pay Realty $24,000 a year, at the rate of $2,000 per month, as a management fee, plus 15 percent of all gross revenues earned by N & V in excess of $12,500 a month, or in excess of $150,000 a year, whichever method produced the higher amount. In addition to the typical functions relating to the operation and management of the Fox shopping center, Realty also agreed that it would guarantee the payment of all rent under the Fox shopping center leases and would enter into or change leases only with prior approval of N & V. The agreement was predicated upon the joint availability and performance of Lazarus, and N & V retained the right to terminate the agreement upon the death of either Simon or Mina Lazarus. In the absence of such termination, the agreement was to run from year to year so long as either Simon or Mina Lazarus was alive subject only to the right of either N & V or Realty to cancel the agreement upon 1 year’s written notice to the other party. Such cancellation could be made only for cause.

During the period in issue, no bonus compensation as provided for by the management contract was earned or paid to Lazarus.

On June 18, 1963, Lazarus transferred all the stock of N & Y to an irrevocable trust in exchange for an annuity agreement. The trustee was a Bahamian trust company, Aruba Bonaire Curacao Trust Co., Ltd. (ABC), and was given full power to sell the stock to third parties.

On January 2,1964, ABC, as trustee of the Lazarus trust, sold all the N & V stock to World Entertainers, Ltd. (WE), a Bahamian corporation. Shortly thereafter, WE sold all of the N & V stock to Associated Arts, N.Y. (AA), a Netherlands Antilles corporation. In April or early May 1964, AA sold the N & Y stock to Branjon, Inc. (Branjon), a California corporation formed by Leo Branton, Jr. The investment in the N & V stock was entered on the Branjon ledger as $3 million. Mr. Branton owned 100 percent of the stock of Branjon.

Following the acquisition of all of the stock of N & V by Branjon, the board of directors of N & V adopted a plan to dissolve and completely liquidate N & V and distribute all of the assets thereof to Branjon on May 19,1964. The resolution was as follows:

Whereas, N and V Realty Corporation is a California corporation, with its principal office at 3460 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1010, Los Angeles 5, California; and
Whereas, N and V Realty Corporation was incorporated on April 15,1963; and
Whereas, N and V Realty Corporation operates on a calendar year and filed a return for the taxable year 1963 in the Los Angeles Internal Revenue District; and
Whereas, Branjon, Inc., a California corporation, now owns 100% of the stock of N and V Realty Corporation; and
Whereas, Branjon, Inc. obtained said stock within the last 30 days for the sole purpose of obtaining the assets of N and V Realty Corporation:
It is Hereby Resolved:
That the Board of Directors of N and V Realty Corporation hereby formally adopts a plan to dissolve completely and fully liquidate said corporation as rapidly as possible, but in no case later than the end of the current taxable year. N and V Realty Corporation shall cease doing business for all purposes as of this date and shall remain active only for essential steps in the course of liquidation. The assets of N and V Realty Corporation shall be distributed as rapidly as possible to Branjon, Inc., and all such assets shall be taken subject to the liabilities of N and Y Realty Corporation. As soon as all of the assets and liabilities have been distributed to Branjon, Inc., formal dissolution with the State of California shall be completed and N and V Corporation shall cease to exist for all purposes. Leo Branton, Jr., Esq. and Kahan and DeMatoff, Certified Public Accountants, are hereby retained by N and V Realty Corporation to conclude the legal and accounting work necessary for the dissolution and liquidation of N and V Realty Corporation.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
76 T.C. 789, 1981 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 129, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bonaire-development-co-v-commissioner-tax-1981.