Brewster v. Commissioner

55 T.C. 251, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 40
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 29, 1970
DocketDocket No. 3672-67
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 55 T.C. 251 (Brewster 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
Brewster v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 251, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 40 (tax 1970).

Opinions

Tiet.teNS, Judge:

The Commissioner determined deficiencies in petitioner’s Federal income tax for the years 1957 through 1960 as follows:

Year Deficiency
1957 _$14,296. 77
1958 _ 12,439.58
1959 _ 29, Oil. 45
1960 - 17,900.73

Taxable year 1956 is also involved herein but only so far as it relates to a net operating loss in that year which was carried forward to 1957 and deducted therein.

The primary issue for our determination is whether during the years in question certain expenses claimed as deductions by petitioner are allowable or are disallowed by section 911(a), I.R.C. 1954,1 as being “properly allocable to or chargeable against amounts excluded from gross income,” such income being excludable exempt “earned income” as defined in section 911 (b). The resolution of this issue will rest with our determination as to whether or not petitioner had any “earned income” as defined in section 911 (b), for the years in question.

FINDINGS OF FACT

All of the facts have been stipulated and the case has been submitted under Knle 30. The stipulation and exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

During each of the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive, petitioner was a citizen of the United States and 'lived at Palmerstown Stud, at Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. There she engaged in the business of farming, raising cattle, and breeding, training, and raising horses. Petitioner filed her individual Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1956, 1957,1958, 1959, and 1960 with the district director of internal revenue, Baltimore, Md. For each of the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive, petitioner was a bona fide resident of a foreign country within the meaning of section 911(a) (1).

During each of the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive, petitioner’s farming business was one in which both her personal services and capital were material income-producing factors. During each of the following years, petitioner received the following amounts of gross income from her farming business, and incurred and paid the following amounts of farm expenses, which resulted in the following net farm losses:2

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On her tax returns for the years involved herein and for 1956 petitioner did not exclude any amount under section 911(a) as “earned income” and correspondingly availed herself of all deductions relating to the operation of her business.

For each of the years 1956 through 1960, inclusive, the Commissioner determined that a portion of petitioner’s gross farm income constituted earned income which the Commissioner excluded from her gross income pursuant to section 911. The Commissioner also determined that a libe proportion of petitioner’s farm expenses was properly allocable to or chargeable against her exempt earned income with the consequence that the proportionate amounts were not allowable deductions.

OPINION

The relevant parts of section 911 are as follows:

SEC. 911. EARNED INCOME FROM SOURCES WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Generai Rule. — The following items shall not he included in gross imcome and shall he exempt from taxation under this subtitle:
(1) Bona fide Resident of foreign country. — In the case of an individual citizen of the United States who establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary or his delegate that he has been a bona fide resident of a foreign country or countries for an uninterrupted period which includes an entire taxable year, amounts received from sources without the United States (except amounts paid by the United States or any agency thereof) which constitute earned income attrihutahle to services performed during such uninterrupted period. * * *
*******
An individual shall not he allowed, as a deduction from his gross income, any deductions (other than those allowed by section 161, relating to personal exemptions) properly allocable to or chargeable against amounts excluded from gross income under this subsection.
(b) Definition of Earned Income. — For purposes of this section, the term “earned income” means wages, salaries, or professional fees, and other amounts received as compensation for personal services actually rendered, but does not include that part of the compensation derived by the taxpayer for personal services rendered by him to a corporation which represents a distribution of earnings or profits rather than a reasonable allowance as compensation for the personal services actually rendered. In the case of a taxpayer engaged in a trade or business in which both personal services and capital are material income-producing factors, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate, a reasonable allowance as compensation for the personal services rendered by the taxpayer, not in excess of 30 percent of his share of the net profits of such trade or business, shall be considered as earned income.
[Emphasis supplied.]

Petitioner’s argument is a plausible one — i.e., since her business produced only losses and no net profits, she had no earned income to exclude; and having no excludable income, her claimed deductions are allowable because they were allocable or chargeable against non-excludable gross income rather than against amounts excluded.

We do not think this argument is persuasive. The applicable statute is not permissive or elective.3 It reads that certain items shall not be included in gross income. One of the items which shall not be included is “earned income” and “earned income” is defined to include “a reasonable allowance as compensation for the personal services rendered by the taxpayer” in the case of a taxpayer engaged in a business in which both personal services and capital are material income-producing factors. It is stipulated that the taxpayer here was engaged in such a business. And, following the statute, the Commissioner has made such an allowance in his determination. No question about the reasonableness of the allowance is raised. The statute further states that such an allowance “shall be considered as earned income” and therefore shall “not be included in gross income.” This also has been done by the Commissioner in his determination.

Petitioner seizes upon the words “not in excess of 30 percent of his share of the net profits of such trade or business” appearing in section 911(b), rnpra, and argues that this is an indication that unless there are “net profits” the statute does not apply to her situation. We do not agree with petitioner on this point. As the Commissioner argues, this language simply places a limitation on the amount to be treated as “earned income” in situations where there are net profits. This limitation does not come into play here, where there are only losses.

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Related

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1982 T.C. Memo. 586 (U.S. Tax Court, 1982)
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1979 T.C. Memo. 271 (U.S. Tax Court, 1979)
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1979 T.C. Memo. 272 (U.S. Tax Court, 1979)
Cook v. United States
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Christensen v. Commissioner
71 T.C. 328 (U.S. Tax Court, 1978)
Bruno v. Commissioner
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Brewster v. Commissioner
67 T.C. 352 (U.S. Tax Court, 1976)
Vogt v. United States
537 F.2d 405 (Court of Claims, 1976)
Painter v. Commissioner
1976 T.C. Memo. 164 (U.S. Tax Court, 1976)
Howe v. Commissioner
1976 T.C. Memo. 119 (U.S. Tax Court, 1976)
Cornman v. Commissioner
63 T.C. 653 (U.S. Tax Court, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
55 T.C. 251, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 40, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brewster-v-commissioner-tax-1970.