Broide v. United States

156 F. Supp. 12, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 808, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2714
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedNovember 5, 1957
DocketNos. 53 C 1764, 53 C 1765
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 156 F. Supp. 12 (Broide v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Broide v. United States, 156 F. Supp. 12, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 808, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2714 (N.D. Ill. 1957).

Opinion

CAMPBELL, District Judge.

By these actions, consolidated for trial, taxpayers George Broide and Fritzi Broide, seek to recover certain deficiency assessments paid by them in respect to their separate income tax returns for 1946. The deficiency assessments resulted from The Internal Revenue Commissioner’s non-recognition of D. J. Bielzoff Products Co., a general partnership organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, as a bona fide partnership for tax purposes.

George Broide and Fritzi Broide are husband and wife and they have two children George Broide, Jr., and Judith Helene Broide. On July 1, 1943, D. J. Bielzoff Products Co., a partnership, was organized as a rectifier and producer of alcoholic liquors. It took over the business previously carried on by a corporation which was dissolved. From July 1, 1943, until April 30, 1945, the partners and their interest in the profits and losses of the partnership were as follows: George Broide, 33%%-; Fritzi Broide, 16%%; Morris Kayne, 33%%; and Alice Kayne, 16%%.

On April 30, 1945, Morris Kayne and Alice Kayne retired as partners and their interests in the partnership were purchased by George and Fritzi Broide for $403,794.50. On April 30, 1945, George Broide executed two separate trust agreements, one for the benefit of his son George Broide, Jr., the other for the benefit of his daughter Judith- Helene Broide. The trustee designated under these trusts was Beatrice Bielzoff Rodney, now known as Beatrice Luks, who is a sister of Fritzi Broide. On the same date, April 30, 1945, Fritzi Broide executed two separate trust agreements, one for the benefit of her son George Broide, Jr., the other for the benefit of her daughter Judith Helene Broide. The trustee designated under these trusts was' Irving I. Shapiro, now known as Irving W. Shepard. Irving W. Shepart had been employed by the 1943 partnership and its corporate predecessor in the capacity of advisor and accountant since 1934.

Each of the four trusts created by George and Fritzi Broide are identical in their provisions. The settlor in each case transferred $18,750 in cash to the trustee in trust to accumulate the income for the benefit of the primary beneficiary, being either George Broide, Jr., or Judith Helene Broide, until he or she attains the age of 35, at which time the trust was to terminate and the accumulated income and principal was to be paid to the primary beneficiary. The contingent beneficiaries were the descendants of the primary beneficiary under each trust; the descendants of the marriage of George and Fritzi Broide; or the settlor’s heirs at law. The settlor in each trust expressly renounced any right to revoke, modify, or alter the agreement, and reserved no right to participate or receive any part of the corpus or income. The trustees were given broad powers to hold, manage, sell, exchange and invest the trust fund, with power to distribute the principal or accumulated income to the primary beneficiary or to the beneficiary who becomes entitled on the death of the primary beneficiary, if some unforseen contingency or emergency should in the discretion of the trustee make this advisable. Each agreement contains a typical spendthrift clause. The trust agreements did not provide what the initial investment of the $18,750 shall be. However, it is not disputed that the purpose in the creation of these trusts was that they should acquire the Kaynes’ interest in the partnership business, which was represented by a capital account of $75,-000, or half of the equity invested capital of the 1943 partnership, the other half being owned by George and Fritzi [14]*14Broide. The discrepancy between this figure and the $403,794.50 for which George and Fritzi Broide purchased the Kaynes’ interest is attributable to an “advance account” which I discuss later herein. The $75,000 with which the four trusts were funded was drawn from the Broides’ partnership account. George and Fritzi Broide filed gift tax returns for 1945 reporting the gifts to the four trusts set up by them.

On April 30, 1945, the 1943 partnership D. J. Bielzoff Products Co. was dissolved, and a new general partnership was organized, under the laws of the State of Illinois, bearing the same name, and for the purpose of carrying on the same business, as did its predecessor.' The general partners were: George Broide; Fritzi Broide; Irving Shapiro, as trustee of the two trusts for the benefit of George Broide, Jr., and Judith Helene Broide; and Beatrice Bielzoff Rodney, as trustee of the other two trusts for the benefit of George Broide Jr. and Judith Helene Broide. The Articles of Partnership disclose the following contributions of capital and percentages of participation in profits and losses:

Capital Percentage of Participation in Net Profits Percentage of Participation in Loss

George Broide $25,000 33-1/3% 33-1/3%'

Fritzi Broide 50,000 16-2/3% 16-2/3%

Irving Shapiro as trustee of Judith Helene Broide trust 18,750 12-1/2% 12-1/2%

Irving Shapiro as trustee of George Broide Jr. trust 18,750 12-1/2% 12-1/2%

Beatrice Bielzoff Rodney as trustee of Judith Helene Broide trust 18,750 12-1/2% 12-1/2%

Beatrice Bielzoff Rodney as trustee of George Broide Jr. trust 18,750 12-1/2% 12-1/2%

The Articles provided for payment of an annual salary of $15,000 to George Broide. Paragraph 11 provided for dissolution by any party to the agreement upon 90 days prior written notice to all other partners. There was no provision in the agreement restricting the partners’ rights to assign their interests in so far as permissible under Illinois law.

The deficiency assessments which are the subject of the instant claims for refund, resulted from the Commissioner’s non-recognition of D. J. Bielzoff Products Co. of 1945 as a bona fide partnership-for tax purposes and his reallocation of the income thereof, two thirds to George Broide and one third to Fritzi Broide. While the individual income tax returns of George and Fritzi Broide and the fiduciary returns filed on behalf of the four trusts, affected by the Commissioner’s decision, were for the calendar year 1946, the relevant period, for purposes of the Commissioner’s reallocation of the partnership income, is the partnership fiscal period May 1, 1945, to March 31, 1946.

During the period May 1, 1945, to March 31, 1946, the partnership made no distribution of income to the four trusts but the distributive share of each was credited to the trusts upon the partner-’ [15]*15ship’s books. The evidence shows that subsequent to March 31, 1946 and until the cessation of the partnership business in March 1947, no distribution of income was made to the trusts and that the only substantial withdrawals made by the trusts from the partnership account were used to pay income taxes; purchase stock in related Bielzoff enterprises; and to make loans to the partnership which carried no interest, were evidenced solely by book entries in the partnership’s books, and as to which the trustees made no effort to secure repayment. This evidence indicates very strongly that Irving Shepard and Beatrice Luks were acting as subordinate parties in relation to the taxpayers in this case.

Where a partnership is challenged as a mere income shifting device, attention has been traditionally focussed upon the question of the bona fide intention of the partners to join together in the present conduct of the enterprise. Commissioner v. Culbertson, 337 U.S. 733, 742, 69 S.Ct. 1210, 93 L.Ed. 1659.

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Bluebook (online)
156 F. Supp. 12, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 808, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/broide-v-united-states-ilnd-1957.