Casalina Corp. v. Commissioner

60 T.C. No. 73, 60 T.C. 694, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 81
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 13, 1973
DocketDocket No. 6158-70
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 60 T.C. No. 73 (Casalina Corp. 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
Casalina Corp. v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. No. 73, 60 T.C. 694, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 81 (tax 1973).

Opinion

FORRESTER, Judge:

Eespondent determined deficiencies in petitioner’s Federal income taxes as follows:

Taxable year Amount 1966 1967 1968 $792. 00 40, 836. 81 124,470. 50

The parties have now agreed as to some issues and those remaining for our consideration are:

(1) Whether under section 1033 1 petitioner is entitled to nonrecognition of gains realized on condemnation awards;

(2) Whether gains realized by petitioner on condemnation awards are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains;

(3) Whether any portion of fees paid to attorneys for services in condemnation proceedings may be allocated to interest allowed on condemnation awards;

(4) Whether interest allowed on condemnation awards made in 1967 and 1968 is accruable and taxable in those years, or over the 15-year period of the condemnation proceedings;

(5) Whether petitioner, an accrual basis taxpayer, having failed to make accruals for interest owed by it on a mortgage may claim these interest deductions when it pays them in later years.

FINDINGS OF FACT

General

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found.

Petitioner Casalina Corp. (Casalina) is a South Carolina corporation engaged in the real estate business and with its principal place of business in Conway, S.C. Casalina filed its Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1966, 1967, and 1968 on the accrual basis with the district director of internal revenue, Columbia, S.C.

Issues Condemnation Awards

In 1942 Casalina acquired three tracts of undeveloped land on the outer banks of North Carolina for a total cost of $6,600. Tract 217 contained 800 acres and ran from Pamlico Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. Tract 401 consisted of 290 acres on Bodie Island, while tract 333 contained 250 acres near Buxton and Hatteras Island. Casalina held these tracts until they were condemned by the Federal Government in the 1950’s. During this period it made no improvements to the tracts and no attempts to sell them.

In 1937, the Congress of the United States had passed legislation for the establishment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the outer banks of North Carolina. The area proposed for the park included the three tracts of land purchased by petitioner.

No action was taken to create the park until the early 1950’s. At that time highways were constructed by the State of North Carolina which made the Cape Hatteras region more accessible. The National Park Service (the Service) established boundaries and attempted to buy land for the park, including Casalina’s three tracts.

Casalina refused the Service’s offers to purchase its tracts, and the Service commenced condemnation proceedings in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina. The dates the tracts were condemned and amounts deposited by the Service as its estimate of the fair market values of the properties are as follows:

Tract Date condemned 6/25/53 5/13/58 3/19/59 Amounts of deposits in the cour t $7, 500 7, 000 13, 000 During the condemnation proceedings, Casalina made withdrawals from the amounts deposited with the court as follows: Tract 217. 401. 333. Date of withdrawal 1/15/66 10/1/63 4/5/61 Amount $6, 750 6, 300 11, 700 N H CO HOCO cq ^ co

The corporation had unrestricted use of these withdrawn funds. Casa-lina did not request an extension of time in which to reinvest the proceeds of condemnation awards during this period pursuant to section 1.1033(a)-2(c) (3), Income Tax Regs., because its accountant Charles J. Walheim (Walheim) advised the corporation that it was unnecessary to do so at that time.

Walheim had been an accountant since 1920 and a certified public accountant since 1935.

In 1963 the District Court judge appointed three commissioners to determine the value of Casalina’s tracts. The commissioners submitted their reports to the court in 1966. The Service considered the commissioners’ valuations excessive and moved that the reports not be accepted by the court. In 1967, the Service abandoned its appeals and the judgments recommended by the commissioners were finalized. The dates the U.S. District Court entered the final judgments, and the amounts thereof are as follows:

Tract Judgment date 1/10/68 6/1/67 1/10/68 Amount $171, 900. 00 55, 201. 00 94, 147. 20 t> H CO HOCO C<3 CO

On December 23, 1968, Casalina received tbe amounts of these judgments together with interest in the amount of $229,349.12. The total legal and related expenses incurred by Casalina in the condemnation proceedings was $185,596.20.

Casalina made applications to the proper district director for extensions of time within which to reinvest the condemnation awards on December 13, 1968, as to tract 401, and on December 15,1969, as to tracts 217 and 833. In both requests it was misrepresented that no gain had been realized on the condemnations prior to the entry of final judgments by the District Court. These requested extensions were granted by the district director.

In 1969 Casalina made investments in real estate in the total amount of about $271,400.

On its 1967 and 1968 Federal income tax returns, Casalina did not report any gains resulting from the condemnation awards. On its 1968 return Casalina prorated the interest income received on the awards to the years 1953 through 1968. Respondent determined that Casalina did not qualify for nonrecognition of gains under section 1033 with respect to the condemnation awards, and that the interest income was taxable entirely in 1967 and 1968.

Issue 5. Interest Deduction

On August 23,1953, Casalina purchased 53 acres of real estate near Myrtle Beach, S.C., from its three stockholders for $50,000. It made a cash payment of $7,500 down on this purchase of real estate and gave a mortgage of $42,500 for the balance of the purchase price. Casalina was to make principal payments of $500 semiannually and interest payments of 5 percent on the balance.

Casalina did not make accruals for the interest due on the mortgage, nor did it make payments of this interest until 1966. Payments of interest were made as follows:

Year Amount
1966 _$3,600
1967 _ 6,100
1968 _14,400

On its Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1966,1967, and 1968, Casalina deducted interest payments made on the mortgage during those taxable years.

Respondent disallowed these deductions, on the basis that as an accrual basis taxpayer, Casalina was only entitled to deduct interest expenses accrued during the taxable year.

OPINION

Issue 1. Recognition of Gains on Invofomtary Oowversion of Realty

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Bluebook (online)
60 T.C. No. 73, 60 T.C. 694, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 81, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/casalina-corp-v-commissioner-tax-1973.