Braunstein v. Commissioner

305 F.2d 949
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJuly 6, 1962
DocketNos. 256-258, Docket 27146-27148
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 305 F.2d 949 (Braunstein v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braunstein v. Commissioner, 305 F.2d 949 (2d Cir. 1962).

Opinion

LUMBARD, Chief Judge.

The taxpayers,1 who had previously been active in constructing homes and apartment buildings, formed two corporations in 1948 for the purpose of building apartment houses in a development, called Oakland Gardens in Bayside, Queens County, New York, to be financed under § 608 of the National Housing Act.2 The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) guaranteed mortgage loans, to the two corporations which then built, the proposed projects. Each corporation had an excess of mortgage loan funds, remaining after the costs of construction had been paid. In 1950, the year following completion of construction, the three-taxpayers sold their stock in both corporations at a profit and, as part of the sale transaction, received distributions-which included the excess mortgage-funds from the two corporations. The taxpayers reported the excess of the-amounts they received — both on the distributions from the corporations and on sale of their stock — over their bases in the stock.and the expenses of sale as-long-term capital gains of $313,854.17 each. The Commissioner asserted that the two corporations were collapsible corporations under § 117(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 3 so that the: [951]*951gains from the distributions and from the sale of the stock were ordinary income. In a decision which was reviewed by the full court, the Tax Court upheld the Commissioner with one judge dissenting. 36 T.C. 22 (1961). The taxpayers appeal, and we affirm.

The Taxpayers Had the Requisite View During Construction

According to § 117(m) (1) of the 1939 Code, gain from the sale or exchange of stock of a “collapsible corporation,” which gain, but for § 117(m), would be long-term capital gain, is ordinary income. According to § 117(m) (2) (A), a corporation is a “collapsible corporation” if it is formed or availed of principally for the construction of property “with a view to * * * the sale or exchange of stock by its shareholders * * * or a distribution to its shareholders, prior to the realization by the corporation * * * constructing * * * the property of a substantial part of the net income to be derived from such property” and “with a view to * * * the realization by such shareholders of gain attributable to such property.” This “view” is present “whether such action [sale or exchange of the stock or distribution to shareholders] was contemplated unconditionally, conditionally, or as a recognized possibility.” Treas.Reg. Ill, § 29.117-11 (b) (1953). The “view” to such sale or distribution must exist at some time “during construction.” Treas.Reg. Ill, & 29.117-11 (b) (1953). See Jacobson v. Commissioner, 281 F.2d 703 (3 Cir. 1960). But see Glickman v. Commissioner, 256 F.2d 108, 110-111 (2 Cir. 1958) (dictum). Thus, if “the sale, exchange, or distribution is attributable to circumstances present at the time of * * * construction * * * the corporation shall, in the absence of compelling facts to the contrary, be considered to have been so formed or availed of.” Treas.Reg. Ill § 29.117-11 (b) (1953). The regulations state that when a corporation’s construction of property is substantial in relation to its other activities and its shareholders sell their stock or receive a distribution, thus recognizing a gain before the corporation has realized a substantial part of the net income from the property, these facts will ordinarily be sufficient, in the absence of other facts, to establish that the corporation is collapsible. Treas.Reg. Ill, § 29.117-11 (d) (1953).

[952]*952In an attempt to satisfy their burden of proof that they did not have the requisite view to sale or distribution during construction the taxpayers make two main arguments. They contend that they intended the two corporations to be repositories for the accumulation of substantial estates for their families, and thus meant the corporations to be long-term investments. They further contend that the distributions and sales were attributable to an unanticipated decline in the profitability of the two corporations — a decrease in rent income and an increase in expenses' — which occurred after construction was completed. The Tax Court found that although the taxpayers may have been attempting to make profits, the facts were inconsistent with the use of the two corporations as a repository for these profits. The Tax Court also found that the facts did not bear out the taxpayers’ claims that there was an unexpected decline in profitability after the completion of construction. We conclude that the Tax Court was not wrong when it found that the taxpayers had the requisite “view” prior to the completion of the two projects.4

Although Benjamin Neisloss testified that the two corporations were intended as a long-term repository for the accumulation of a large estate, the Tax Court need not accept the unsupported testimony of an interested party. See, e. g., Hartman v. Commissioner, 296 F.2d 726, 727-728 (2 Cir. 1961); Payne v. Commissioner, 268 F.2d 617, 621 (5 Cir. 1959); Cohen v. Commissioner, 148 F.2d 336 (2 Cir. 1945). Thus it is necessary for us to examine the facts to see if they lend support to the taxpayers’ contention.

Benjamin and Harry Neisloss were brothers active in various real estate construction enterprises since 1919. Benjamin Braunstein is an architect who had been associated with the other two since about 1930. Beginning in 1943 the three taxpayers organized and were equal stockholders in seven corporations which constructed multiple dwelling garden-type apartments financed under § 608 of the National Housing Act. After the passage of between one and ten years from the completion of these projects, the taxpayers sold their stock in the seven corporations in 1949, 1950, and 1953. This case concerns the distribution of cash and the sale of the stock of two of these corporations.

On March 31, 1948 Springfield Development Company, Inc., and Hill Development Company, Inc., were incorporated. Each of the three taxpayers purchased ten shares of the common A stock of each corporation for $1 per share. The FHA purchased 100 shares of each corporation’s preferred stock for $1 per share. Thus the two corporations’ total paid-in capital was only $260. The taxpayers and their other corporations made loans to Springfield and Hill which were repaid out of the mortgage loan proceeds. Although such a nominal capitalization is not wholly inconsistent with the taxpayers’ claims that they intended Springfield and Hill as a repository for the accumulation of their estates, it certainly does not lend weight to their contentions.

Previously the taxpayers had obtained a commitment from the FIIA for mortgage loan insurance for the two projects, which were in fact parts of a single overall development. The FHA’s total estimated cost of the projects was $6,845,804 and the total mortgage insurance commitments were $6,101,600. Both corporations entered into loan agreements with the Bank of Manhattan Company to advance the amount of the FHA morN gage insurance commitment with 4% interest.

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305 F.2d 949, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braunstein-v-commissioner-ca2-1962.