Broadhead v. Stone

58 So. 2d 803, 218 Miss. 911, 1952 Miss. LEXIS 606
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 1952
DocketNo. 38271
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 58 So. 2d 803 (Broadhead v. Stone) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Broadhead v. Stone, 58 So. 2d 803, 218 Miss. 911, 1952 Miss. LEXIS 606 (Mich. 1952).

Opinion

McG-ehee, C. J.

In this suit a taxpayer seeks to have declared null and void, for want of due process of law, the procedure whereby the State Tax Commission assessed him with [916]*916additional income taxes for the years 1941 through 1946, amounting to many thousands of dollars in excess of the taxes theretofore paid on the reported income for the same six-year period.

The petition or bill of complaint of the taxpayer also seeks to enjoin the defendant Tax Commissioner from taking further action toward the collection of the additional taxes claimed under the assessment in question; asks for the cancellation, as a cloud upon his title to lands and timber in Clarke County, the tax distraint warrant issued on January 26, 1951, and now enrolled as a judgment lien thereon; and that the Sheriff of Clarke County be enjoined from executing the warrant now held by him for the collection of such taxes.

The answer of the defendant challenges the jurisdiction of the Chancery Court of Hinds County over the subject matter to the extent that the suit seeks to cancel the warrant as a cloud upon the title of real estate in another county, and to enjoin the sheriff of the other county from executing the warrant for the collection of the taxes in question; it concedes the jurisdiction of the court at Jackson in a proper case to inquire into the validity of the assessments made by the State Tax Commission. Nevertheless, if the assessment had been declared void, for want of due process, then the petitioner would have been entitled to enjoin the defendant State Tax Commissioner from collecting the taxes claimed by him to be due thereon, without regard to whether or not he was entitled to the other relief prayed for in that particular forum. Section 1340, Code of 1942.

From a final decree dismissing the petition or bill of complaint on' its merits, and denying to the taxpayer any of the relief prayed for, he prosecutes this appeal.

The petitioner, or complainant, had, prior to the filing of the petition or bill of complaint, offered to do equity by agreeing in writing to settle with the State on the basis of his Federal tax liability when the same was [917]*917determined from the audit then being made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and further offered to do equity in his pleading by declaring himself ready to pay to the State any income tax which he owes at any time the same may be determined upon facts shown or agreed to.

The appellant, Sam E. Broadhead, filed returns in regular form with the Income Tax Division of the State Tax Commission for the years 1941 through 1946. The returns for each of the years of that period were made on or before March 15th of the following year, except that the return for the year 1946 was not made until on or before May 15,1947, pursuant to an extension granted the taxpayer in that behalf. On September 17, 1947, the taxpayer was notified of a proposed additional assessment covering the years of 1941 through 1946 inclusive in the sum of $36,450.09. Thereafter, on September 23, 1947, the taxpayer wrote the Chief of the Income Tax Division, hereinafter referred to as the “Chief” for the sake of brevity, and suggested that the additional assessment for the years 1941, 1942 and 1943 was barred by a three-year statute of limitation, but asked that he be granted a sixty-day extension within which to have the assessment for each of the six years checked.

In his reply on September 26,1947, the Chief took issue with the taxpayer as to whether or not the additional assessment on any of the years in question was barred by the statute of limitation, but he nevertheless granted the sixty-day extension to enable the taxpayer to have the statement of the proposed additional assessment duly checked to ascertain whether or not the same was correct ; but he then inquired of the taxpayer as to why he needed the additional time. Not having received a reply to this letter, the Chief on October 4, 1947, quoted that portion of his last letter to the taxpayer and reminded him that more than ten days had elapsed and that he desired a response to his inquiry.

[918]*918Thereafter, on October 15, 1947, the taxpayer wrote the Chief and stated that he had employed Mr. W. H. Becker of Brookhaven, Mississippi, a tax consultant, to handle the matter for him, and then reminded the Chief that at Mr. Becker’s request the taxpayer had obtained the sixty-day extension in which to check his records, and further stated that although he felt that the assessments for 1941, 1942 and 1943 were barred, he was nevertheless having them checked along with the other years. In that letter the taxpayer stated, “I should like very much to have a statement as to how you arrived at the assessment you have made. I do not have any record of your auditors checking my books for most of these years. I believe I am entitled to this information so that I can have this matter checked more intelligently.”

On October 20,1947, the Chief replied, “We only know that as of December 31, 1946, your net worth exceeded the net worth of January 1, 1941, in the sum of $352,-000.00. When this income was realized is not known here, but my suggestion is that we withdraw our proposed assessment, * * * and determine the tax liability thereon on the basis of it having been realized during 1946.” It is entirely probable, or at least conceivable, that the taxpayer was not ready to either agree for $352,000 of additional income to be allocated and assessed to him over the entire six-year period, or to agree that it be assessed as increased net worth realized during the year 1946. The proposed assessment had then been increased to the sum of $37,256.05, including additional interest.

Section 9244, Code of 1942, reads as follows: “If the Commissioner has reason, based upon facts, to believe that the amount of any income return is understated he shall give notice to the taxpayer making the return to show cause why the amount of the income returned should not be increased, and upon proof of the amount understated, may increase the amount accordingly. Such [919]*919taxpayer may furnish testimony to prove any relevant facts, under such rules of procedure as may be prescribed by the Commissioner with the approval of the Governor.”

Therefore, at the time it was suggested to the taxpayer that the $352,000 of increased net worth be considered as having been realized during 1946, he had not been advised upon what facts the proposed assessment was to be based and there had been no “proof of the amount understated.” This was merely a proposed assessment under the statute last above quoted, the correctness of which alleged additional tax liability would ordinarily be determined in the manner provided in Section 9253, Code of 1942, when the taxpayer would be entitled to know on what fact or facts reported income is proposed to be increased in order that he may explain how the additional income was acquired or dispute the authenticity or correctness of the data relied on by the Commissioner. The taxpayer should do one or the other when a prima facie case of understatement in his reported income has been shown. It is true that the statute quoted in the preceding paragraph expressly provides that “upon proof of the amount understated” the Commissioner may increase the amount accordingly, but this proof may arise out of all the evidence as to whether or not the amount of increase in net worth is all taxable income for the period in question.

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Related

Estate of Broadhead v. Commissioner
1966 T.C. Memo. 26 (U.S. Tax Court, 1966)
Barnwell, Inc. v. Sun Oil Co.
162 So. 2d 635 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1964)
Broadhead v. Stone
60 So. 2d 637 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1952)

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Bluebook (online)
58 So. 2d 803, 218 Miss. 911, 1952 Miss. LEXIS 606, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/broadhead-v-stone-miss-1952.