Brook, Inc. v. Commissioner

1985 T.C. Memo. 614, 51 T.C.M. 133, 1985 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 18
United States Tax Court·Decided December 17, 1985·No. Docket No. 9116-82.·Unpublished·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

THE BROOK, INC., Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Brook, Inc. v. Commissioner
Docket No. 9116-82.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1985-614; 1985 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 18; 51 T.C.M. (CCH) 133; T.C.M. (RIA) 85614;
December 17, 1985.
Charles T. Crawford, for the petitioner.
Elizabeth M. Fasciana, for the respondent.

KORNER

SUPPLEMENTAL MEMORANDUM OPINION

KORNER, Judge: On September 4, 1985, the Court released its Memorandum Findings of Fact and Opinion in this case, T.C. Memo. 1985-462, and decision was entered in accordance therewith on the same day. In that earlier opinion, we held that petitioner, a social club exempt under the provisions of section 501(c)(7), 1 was not entitled to offset the net losses which it incurred in providing food and beverage service to nonmembers against the net income which it had from investments, for the purpose of computing its unrelated business taxable income under the provisions of section 512(a)(3), as determined by respondent. Thereafter, petitioner timely filed a motion under Rule 161 to reconsider our opinion, and a further motion under under Rule 162 to vacate the decision previously entered, and respondent filed an opposition to both motions. We*20 consider both motions together.

In its motions, petitioner continues to urge that the excess of its expenses over income with respect to nonmember food and beverage service can properly be aggregated with its net income from investments so as to arrive at a net total of unrelated business taxable income within the meaning of section 512(a)(3). In making this argument, petitioner relies upon its interpretation of respondent's proposed regulation section 1.512(a)-3, 36 Fed. Reg. 8808 (1971). Petitioner further urges that, contrary to what we said in our first opinion, this case is not controlled by Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla v. Commissioner,80 T.C. 755 (1983). In Krewe, petitioner urges, the expenses in question - the cost of staging a mock invasion and parade - were expenses of an exempt function of the taxpayer, rather than a nonexempt function. The Court's holding in Krewe that such expenses could not be offset against nonexempt*21 function income, from concession stands and the like, therefore provides, says petitioner, no precedent for our holding in the instant case that the excess expenses from one nonexempt activity cannot be offset against the income from another unrelated nonexempt activity.

In his opposition to petitioner's motions, respondent agrees in part with petitioner's position, in that respondent agrees that all the allowable expenses of one nonexempt function activity should be brought into hotchpot and should be allowable against any and all other unrelated business taxable income, from whatever source. Respondent urges, however, that such items of expense are allowable as deductions only where the nonexempt function activity in which the expenses are incurred constitutes the carrying on of a trade or business within the meaning of section 162. Where that is not the case, respondent argues, no such expenses are allowable at all as deductions in arriving at unrelated business taxable income, and since petitioner in the instant case concededly did not operate its food and beverage service with the purpose of making a profit, there was therefore no trade or business with respect to this*22 activity, and thus no allowable deductions with respect to such activity.

We have examined the arguments of both sides but, since we disagree with them, we adhere to our original opinion.

First, with regard to the precedential weight of Krewe in the instant situation: it is not entirely clear whether this Court, in Krewe, considered the staging of the mock invasion and parade by the taxpayer to be an exempt function of the taxpayer club, directly related to its social and exempt purposes, within the meaning of section 501(c)(7), or whether it considered such activities to be unrelated to its exempt function, and therefore outside the scope of the exemption. Although the Court's findings of fact indicated that members of the taxpayer club were heavily involved in the invasion and subsequent parade, it seems reasonably clear that such participation was not exclusive to club members, and that there was significant participation by nonmembers also. 2 In either case, however, the holding of the Court was clear - that only the expenses directly connected to the production of income from an unrelated activity could be offset against the income from such activity. As we said*23 in

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Brook, Inc. v. Commissioner, 1985 T.C. Memo. 614, 51 T.C.M. 133, 1985 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 18 (tax 1985).

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