Crowley v. Commissioner

34 T.C. 333, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 141
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 31, 1960
DocketDocket Nos. 65397, 67584
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 34 T.C. 333 (Crowley 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
Crowley v. Commissioner, 34 T.C. 333, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 141 (tax 1960).

Opinions

DeenNen, Judge:

This consolidated proceeding involves deficiencies in income tax and additions to tax determined against petitioners as follows:

[[Image here]]

Tbs issues for decision are: (1) Whether the income reported by the Crowley Company in 1952 and 1953, a purported partnership of the individual petitioners’ children, is attributable to and in-cludible in the income of individual petitioners Robert P. and Mary D. Crowley; (2) whether income from abstract and title policy commissions reported by the Crowley Company and Crowley Corporation in 1953 and 1954, respectively, is attributable to and in-cludible in the income of the City Federal Savings and Loan Association for these years; and (3) whether certain expenditures made in 1952, 1953, and 1954 by Robert P. and Mary D. Crowley are deductible as business expenses. The additions to tax under section 294(d)(2), I.R.C. 1939, are dependent on our decision on the primary issues and are not otherwise in controversy. Should we sustain a deficiency against City Federal Savings and Loan Association, respondent on reply brief has conceded that the additional income attributable to the association would entitle it to further credit its reserve for bad debts in accordance with sections 23 (k), I.R.C. 1939, and 593, I.R.C. 1954. Such an adjustment, as well as others arising out of additional concessions by both parties, would be resolved under Rule 50.

FINDINGS OF FACT.

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are incorporated herein by this reference.

Petitioners Robert P. Crowley and Mary D. Crowley, husband and wife, residing at 4616 North Wilshire Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, filed joint individual income tax returns for calendar years 1952, 1953, and 1954 with the district director of internal revenue at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Petitioner City Federal Savings and Loan Association, hereafter referred to as City, is a corporation organized and existing under the Home Owners Loan Act of 1933 with its principal office located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A domestic building and loan association subject to the provisions of sections 23 (k) and 593, I.R.C. 1939 and 1954, respectively, City filed its Federal corporation income tax returns for calendar years 1953 and 1954 with the district director of internal revenue at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

City, with, total withdrawal savings accounts in 1953 and 1954 of $8,115,553.52 and $8,721,528.37, respectively, was organized in 1935 by Robert and Mary Crowley. Robert, to whom the term “petitioner” shall hereafter refer, an attorney, has been an officer and director since its organization. Since the year 1948 and through 1954, he was president and principal executive officer. Mary was a director during the years here in issue. Under the charter issued by the Federal Government, voting rights in City were vested in the holders of its savings accounts and its borrowers, who are designated members. Voting by proxy was authorized and any number of members present at a regular meeting constituted a quorum. Blanket proxies were solicited and obtained from approximately 40 per cent of the new members of City and were kept in City’s files for utilization at its annual meetings. During the period in question petitioner voted arbitrary numbers of these proxies — 1,583 in 1952, 3,000 in 1953, 1,800 in 1954 — for voting control of the annual meetings. Petitioner and Mary, as individual members of City, each were entitled to the maximum number of 50 votes per member.

City’s principal business was that of lending money secured by first mortgages on improved realty. Its loans, in almost all cases for periods exceeding 1 year, numbered 355 in 1952, 333 in 1953, and 309 in 1954. City’s lending activities generated a substantial amount of subordinate and related business, the disposition of which petitioner, as City’s chief executive officer, controlled. Like many chief officers of savings and loan associations he could direct to whomever he chose the placement of realty insurance, appraisals, abstracts and title insurance policies, and allied legal work. The Manual of Rules and Regulations for the Federal Savings and Loan System provided that fees for these services be charged to and collected from the borrowers. Such charges were, in turn, to be paid “to any persons, including any such [association] director, officer, employee, attorney or firm” rendering the services for which the charges were made.

As a federally chartered savings and loan association, City’s operations were subject to the regulations and supervision of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Periodic inspections by board examiners resulted in no significantly pertinent objections being taken to the activities of City herein involved.

Petitioner and Mary are the parents of four children: Robert P. Crowley, Jr., hereafter referred to as Robert, Clara, David, and Paul, who in 1952 were 19, 16, 14, and 10 years of age, respectively. During 1951, petitioner and Mary discussed the possibility of creating a partnership comprised of the four children. The discussions culminated on January 2, 1952, in the execution of the following instrument by Mary and son Robert:

Whereas, MARY D. CROWLEY and ROBERT P. CROWLEY, JR. have heretofore operated an insurance and real estate loan business and have engaged in related activities, including the making of real estate appraisals; and
Whereas, it is the intention of the said Mary D. Crowley and Robert P. Crowley, Jr. to assign and transfer all of their interest in said business to Mary D. Crowley, as Trustee for Clara E. Crowley, Robert P. Crowley, Jr., David Y. Crowley and Paul Y. Crowley, each of such beneficiaries to have an undivided one-fourth (%) interest as partners in the assets of said business and the income derived therefrom; and
Whereas, the said Robert P. Crowley, Jr. is under the age of twenty-one (21) but is nevertheless an emancipated minor; and the said Clara E. Crowley and Paul V. Crowley and David V. Crowley are unemancipated minors,
Now, Therefore, in consideration of mutual love and affection, and in consideration of the covenants hereinafter set forth, the undersigned Mary D. Crowley and Robert P. Crowley, Jr. assign, transfer and set over all of their right, title and interest in and to the insurance and real estate loan and appraisal business, and such related business operated by them, unto Mary D. Crowley as Trustee for Clara E. Crowley, Robert P. Crowley, Jr., David V. Crowley and Paul V. Crowley, each of such beneficiaries to own an undivided one-fourth (Vi-) share of the assets of said business and the income derived therefrom; and in the event of the death of any one of them, the share of such deceased person shall be divided equally among the survivors; on condition that the said Mary D. Crowley, Trustee, shall perform the following functions;
1. That said Trustee shall operate said business for and on behalf of said beneficiaries in the name of THE CROWLEY COMPANY, which shall be a family partnership.
2. That the said Trustee shall keep accurate books of account and proper records in connection with the operation of said business, and shall make an annual accounting of the financial transactions and affairs of the business.
3.

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

Related

Demetree v. Comm'r
2003 T.C. Memo. 323 (U.S. Tax Court, 2003)
Latzak v. Commissioner
1994 T.C. Memo. 416 (U.S. Tax Court, 1994)
Durkin v. Commissioner
87 T.C. No. 79 (U.S. Tax Court, 1986)
Hospital Corp. of America v. Commissioner
81 T.C. No. 31 (U.S. Tax Court, 1983)
Gettler v. Commissioner
1975 T.C. Memo. 87 (U.S. Tax Court, 1975)
Ronan State Bank v. Commissioner
62 T.C. No. 5 (U.S. Tax Court, 1974)
Local Finance Corp. v. Commissioner
48 T.C. 773 (U.S. Tax Court, 1967)
Nat Harrison Assoc., Inc. v. Commissioner
42 T.C. 601 (U.S. Tax Court, 1964)
Alabama-Georgia Syrup Co. v. Commissioner
36 T.C. 747 (U.S. Tax Court, 1961)
Crowley v. Commissioner
34 T.C. 333 (U.S. Tax Court, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 T.C. 333, 1960 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 141, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crowley-v-commissioner-tax-1960.