Bryant v. Commissioner

2 T.C. 789, 1943 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedSeptember 29, 1943
DocketDocket No. 110052
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2 T.C. 789 (Bryant 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
Bryant v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 789, 1943 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54 (tax 1943).

Opinion

OPINION.

TurneR, Judge:

The respondent determined a deficiency of $4,-056.44 in the petitioner’s income tax for 1939. The issues presented are the correctness of the respondent’s action (1) in disallowing a deduction of $2,127.94 taken for charitable contributions; (2) in including in taxable income $136.02 representing the sum received by the petitioner as bonuses or premiums upon the redemption, prior to the date of maturity, of certain municipal bonds owned by her; and (3) in including in taxable income $971.02 received by petitioner on certain municipal bonds owned by her and representing sums designated penalties for the debtor’s default in the payment of installments of principal or interest at maturity. The respondent concedes error as to issue No. (1). As an alternative issue to be considered in event it is held that the amount involved in issue No. (2) constituted taxable income, the petitioner alleges that the said amount is capital gain and not ordinary income, as was determined by respondent.

The proceeding was submitted upon the pleadings, a stipulation of facts, and certain documentary evidence and there is no controversy as to the facts.

The petitioner is a resident of San Marino, California, and filed her income tax return for 1939 with the collector for the sixth district of California.

During 1939 the petitioner was the owner of certain bonds issued by the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles in the State of California. The bonds were issued under acts of the legislature of that state as follows: Improvement Act approved February 27, 1893. Improvement Act approved April 7, 1911. Improvement Act approved June 16,1913, and Improvement Act approved June 8, 1921. The bonds were issued in payment for public improvements.

The amount of each particular bond represented the unpaid portion of a special assessment made against a specified parcel of land and, with accrued interest, constituted a first lien on the land. The bonds were for a specified term of years, with aliquot portions of principal to be retired each year. They bore interest at the rate of 7 percent per annum, payable semiannually. While the bonds provided for the payment of interest and aliquot portions of principal by the treasurer of the city or county, as the case might be, said payments were not to be liabilities of the city or county or officers thereof, but were to be paid exclusively from funds collected for such purpose by the city or county from the owners of the parcels of land specified in the respective bonds. The bonds provided that in event default should be made in the annual payment upon the principal or in any payment of interest by the owner of said parcel of land or by anyone in his behalf, the holder of the bond would be entitled to declare the whole unpaid amount to be due and payable and to have the parcel of land advertised and sold forthwith. In addition, the bonds issued under the improvement acts approved April 7, 1911, and June 3, 1921, provided that in case of such default, there should be immediately added to such defaulted amount 5 percent of the amount thereof and on the first day of each month following the default there should be added a further penalty of one percent of such defaulted amount; that the city or county, as the case might be, should be entitled to one-half the penalty first imposed, namely, 2y2 percent, and the other 2y2 percent and all subsequent penalties should be paid to the holder of the bond along with and as a part of such defaulted payment. The bonds issued under the improvement acts approved April 7, 1911, and June 3, 1921, provided that they might be redeemed by the owner of the parcel of land specified therein, or by any person interested in the land, at any time before maturity and before commencement of proceedings for sale, by payment to the city or county treasurer, as the case'might be, for the holder of the bond of the amount then unpaid on the principal sum thereof, with interest thereon calculated up to the date of the next maturing interest coupon, and all penalties accrued and unpaid, together with interest for six months at the rate specified in the bond.

During 1939 the petitioner received $136.02 as premiums, computed as above stated, upon certain bonds owned by her and redeemed prior to the date of maturity and received $971.07 as penalties on bonds owned by her on which defaults in payment of income and principal had been made. In determining the deficiency the respondent included both of said amounts in petitioner’s taxable income.

The bonds involved in this proceeding are identical with the bonds involved in Susanna Bixby Bryant, 38 B. T. A. 618; reversed (C. C. A., 9th Cir.), 111 Fed. (2d) 9, wherein certain questions relating to this petitioner’s income tax liability for 1935 were litigated. The petitioner has pleaded and contends that the respondent erred in including in her taxable income the amounts of $136.02 and $971.07 received by her as premiums and penalties as set forth above, for the reason that the question of the exemption of said amounts from tax has been rendered res judicata by the above mentioned decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals in the proceeding relating to her tax liability for 1935.

In his determination of the petitioner’s tax liability for 1935. which liability was the subject of the proceeding reported at 38 B. T. A. 618. supra, the respondent increased the petitioner’s taxable income by $18,130.14, as interest received on bonds issued in the name of a municipality or county but not exempt from Federal income tax. The Board in its opinion stated that the “only adjustment in controversy js the addition to taxable income of the amount of $18,130.14 representing interest received on improvement bonds issued by the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles. California, which the petitioner claims is exempt from taxation under section 22 (b) (4) of the Revenue Act of 1934.”

As set out in a stipulation of facts filed in the instant proceeding, the parties filed in the prior proceeding a stipulation of facts which recited that the $18,130.14 represented “interest received on the following bonds issued by the City of Los Angeles, and County of Los . Angeles, in the State of California”:

From bonds issued under the Improvement Act approved February 27, 1893 (Stats. 1893, p. 33)- $679.46
From bonds issued under the Improvement Act approved April 7, 1911 (Stats. 1911, p. 730)_ 14,504.61
From bonds issued under Improvement Act approved June 16, 1913 (Stats. 1913, p. 954)_ 125. 25
From bonds issued under Improvement' Act approved June 3, 1921 (Stats. 1921, p. 1658)- 4,523.40
Total-[sic] $19,932.72
Add: Bonus on overpayments and penalties_ 1,486. 20
Unallocated interest_ 12. 76
21, 331. 68
Less: Service fees, costs of audits, etc_ 3,201. 54
Net amount received by petitioner_$18.130.14

The foregoing table was set out in the Board’s opinion substantially as above. The stipulation in the former proceeding did not explain the item “Bonus on overpayments and penalties . .

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Bryant v. Commissioner
2 T.C. 789 (U.S. Tax Court, 1943)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 T.C. 789, 1943 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-commissioner-tax-1943.