Chase Candy Company v. United States

126 F. Supp. 521, 130 Ct. Cl. 102, 46 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1319, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 1
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedNovember 30, 1954
Docket350-52
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 126 F. Supp. 521 (Chase Candy Company v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chase Candy Company v. United States, 126 F. Supp. 521, 130 Ct. Cl. 102, 46 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1319, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 1 (cc 1954).

Opinions

LITTLETON, Judge.

Plaintiff sues to recover $368,989.88 corporate income taxes alleged to have been overpaid for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1947.

Defendant has moved for summary judgment under Rule 51 on the ground that the pleadings raise no genuine issue as to any material fact and that defendant is accordingly entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

In its amended petition plaintiff has alleged in substance the following facts. On December 20, 1946, plaintiff purchased for an amount in excess of $4,-250,000, a candy manufacturing business.1 In acquiring the business, plaintiff alleged that it also acquired the seller’s rights to purchase and use, in the manufacture of candy, certain amounts of sugar and chocolate as determined pursuant to Government sugar rationing regulations and manufacturer’s voluntary chocolate rationing regulations, which regulations were due to expire on March 31, 1947. Plaintiff also alleged that it thereafter exercised such rights acquired from the seller in the purchase [522]*522óf huge amounts of Government rationed sugar and industry rationed chocolate.

Plaintiff further alleged that due to the shortage of sugar and chocolate and the great demand for candy during the rationing period, the rights to purchase sugar and chocolate which it had acquired in the purchase of the seller’s candy manufacturing business, were of great value as long as sugar rationing continued. It is alleged that in the contract of sale the sum of $971,026 was allocated to the acquisition of intangible assets, including good will, patents, trade-marks, trade names, etc. Although no specific amount was mentioned in the contract under which it purchased the National Candy Company, as having been paid for the seller’s rights to purchase sugar and chocolate, plaintiff alleged that the entire sum allocated to “intangible assets” represented the cost of these purchase rights and that the intangible assets expressly mentioned in the contract were of only nominal value.

When sugar rationing (and consequently chocolate rationing) was discontinued on July 28, 1947, the rights to purchase rationed sugar and chocolate acquired from the seller, became completely worthless.

In its Federal income tax return for the fiscal year 1947 plaintiff did not deduct the $971,026, or any portion thereof, which it says was the cost of the sugar purchase rights. It later filed a timely claim for refund which the Commissioner of Internal Revenue denied.

Plaintiff contends, in its briefs on the facts above ,set forth, that it has sustained a loss in the amount-of $971,-026 which is deductible from its 1947 taxable income within the intent and meaning of the Internal Revenue statutes, either (1) as a business expense;2 (2) ■ as a loss upon property becoming worthless or ábandoned;3 or (3) as a depreciation allowance.4

Plaintiff urges that if any of its contentions are sustained, it has overpaid its taxes to' the extent of $368,989.88.

On the facts, this appears to be a case of first impression. Both parties have submitted briefs and arguments in support of their respective positions. The basic question presented involves the determination of the precise nature, for tax purposes, of plaintiff’s expenditure of $971,026, assuming, as plaintiff alleges, that the whole of that sum is properly allocable to what plaintiff chooses to term the seller’s “right to purchase rationed sugar” or the seller’s two “rationed commodity bases” (sugar and chocolate).

At the time of the sale of the business of the National Candy Company Division, applicable sugar rationing regulations5 provided that an industrial user of sugar was entitled to an allotment for each use or product for which he had established a “base period use” measured as a percentage of the base period use. An industrial user of sugar established6 his base, i. e., period use, by reporting the total poundage of sugar used during each of the four quarters of 1941 for' each class of products, including chocolate. An industrial user of sugar who had established a base period use and had received an allotment was prohibited from transferring that allotment as such.7 However, if the business establishment of the industrial user of sugar was sold in whole or in part, the buyer could acquire an allotment of sugar equal to that of the seller if he could satisfy the Office of Price Administration (1) that the sale of the business was bona fide, (2) that he, as transferee or buyer, would continue to serve the same class of customers in the same area, and (3) [523]*523that he' would continue to produce at the purchased establishment the same class of products.

The buyer acquired from the Government the new sugar allotment, not by a conveyance or purchase of that sugar allotment to him by the seller, but by virtue of the action of the Office of Price Administration. The seller’s sugar allotment was cancelled by OPA immediately upon receipt of the required notice by OPA of the sale, at which time the seller also had to surrender to OPA all its unused sugar ration evidences. Until the buyer received a new sugar allotment, it could not use any of the sugar actually on hand or transferred with the purchased establishment or business.

The controls on prices and uses of commodities by OPA during the war period had the effect of preventing uncontrolled price increases and quick exhaustion of vitally necessary commodities. By limiting the use of sugar to those industrial users who had been in business during 1941, however, a monopoly was created in favor of those industrial users and the usual disastrous effects on consumers of a seller’s market were thus avoided by price control. The rate provisions of the tax laws siphoned off some of the huge and abnormal war profits made by those who enjoyed the monopoly thus conferred on industrial users of sugar. A situation not specifically dealt with- by wartime legislation appears to be the one presented to the court by the facts in this case.

In acquiring all the assets of the National Candy Company plaintiff did not and could not legally acquire from National the sugar allocation which the United States had theretofore made to the National Candy Division. As a result of the purchase of the business, plaintiff baeame entitled to apply to the Government for an increased sugar allocation because of its acquisition of the business of National, i. e., an "industrial user establishment” which was registered with OPA. The mere purchase of this manufacturing establishment, however, did not automatically entitle plaintiff to have assigned to it the purchased, establishment’s sugar allocation. Plaintiff had to satisfy OPA that it would: continue the seller’s business establishment, serve the same customers in the-same area, and produce the same class, of products.

It is undoubtedly true that' because of scarcity produced by the war, and regulations made pursuant to law for the public interest and welfare, a candy business establishment, with a substantial sugar allocation had a higher mar- ' ket value during the period when sugar rationing was in effect than it had before or after, and that this enhancement in value disappeared upon the removal of rationing controls.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
126 F. Supp. 521, 130 Ct. Cl. 102, 46 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 1319, 1954 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chase-candy-company-v-united-states-cc-1954.