Dayton Rubber Co. v. Commissioner

26 T.C. 389, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 177
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 31, 1956
DocketDocket Nos. 47294, 53682
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 26 T.C. 389 (Dayton Rubber Co. 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
Dayton Rubber Co. v. Commissioner, 26 T.C. 389, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 177 (tax 1956).

Opinion

OPINION.

Arundell, Judge:

These consolidated proceedings involve the total disallowance by respondent of petitioner’s applications for relief under section 722 of the Internal Eevenue Code of 1989, as amended. In these applications petitioner claims the refund of all the excess profits taxes it paid for certain taxable years, as follows:

Excess profits Docket No, Taxable year ended October SI tax paid
47294. 1941--- $93, 967. 33
53682.... 1942--- 561,945.47
53682_ 1944___ 681, 903. 06
53682. 1946_ 402, 041. 09

Petitioner paid no excess profits taxes for the taxable years ended October 31,1943, and October 31,1945.

The only issue is whether petitioner is entitled to relief under section 722. More specifically it is whether in establishing the constructive average base period net income under section 722 (a) petitioner is also entitled to the benefits of the so-called growth formula used in determining its average base period net income under section 713 (f), or whether these two sections of the Code of 1939, as amended, are mutually exclusive.

All the facts were stipulated. Only those facts which are deemed necessary to an understanding of the law question involved are summarized and set forth below.

Petitioner was incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio on May 13, 1905, as “The Dayton Eubber Manufacturing Company.” On April 1, 1947, the name was changed to “The Dayton Eubber Company.” The principal plant, manufacturing facilities, and offices of petitioner are located at Dayton, Ohio.

Petitioner filed its income and excess profits tax returns with the then collector of internal revenue for the first district of Ohio at Cincinnati.

Petitioner keeps its books on the accrual basis of accounting and reports its income for Federal income tax purposes on the basis of a fiscal year ending October 31.

Petitioner’s “base period” as that term is defined in section 713 (b) (1) (A) of the 1939 Code, as amended, is the 4-year period beginning November 1, 1936, and ending on October 31,1940.

, For many years prior to its base period petitioner had manufactured tires and tubes, belts, rollers, and miscellaneous products under separate divisions. In 1938, petitioner set up a new division known as the textile division wherein it commenced the manufacture of a line of products for use by the textile industry. Respondent recognized the setting up of this new division as a “change in the character of the business” of petitioner as that term is used in section 722 (b) (4) of the 1939 Code, as amended. For the remaining 3 years of the base period the operation of the new division resulted in net losses of $11,586 and $4,393 for fiscal 1938 and fiscal 1939, respectively, and an excess profits net income of $8,306 for fiscal 1940. The parties have stipulated that if petitioner had begun operating the new division 2 years earlier, it would have realized during the base period from the new division alone a constructive average base period net income of $179,136 (applicable to all fiscal years after fiscal 1941). The parties have further stipulated that due to the application of the variable credit rule and Federal income taxes, the constructive average base period net income from the operation of the new division alone (applicable to the fiscal year 1941) is $100,316. It is also agreed that the variable credit rule has no application to any of the fiscal years after the fiscal year ended October 31,1941.

Petitioner’s average base period net income computed under section 713 (f) of the 1939 Code, as amended, for the taxable years in question, is as follows:

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Petitioner’s actual excess profits net income for the base period, after eliminating the actual operations of the new textile division during the base period, applicable to the taxable years in question, is as follows:

Petitioner’s actual excess profits net income of its new textile division for all years from its inception to October 31, 1946, inclusive, compared with its actual excess profits net income of its other divisions, is as follows:

Petitioner contends that it is entitled to a constructive average base period net income under section 722 (a) of the 1939 Code, as amended, determined as follows, by using the principles of the growth formula contained in section 713 (f) of the 1939 Code, as amended (computation shown for fiscal year ended October 31,1942, only) :

Total 2d half (column 3)_$2,069,918

Total 1st half (column 3)_ 1, 636,403

Excess of 2d half over 1st half- 533, 516

One-half of excess_ 266,757

Add: Total of 2d half_,_ 2,069,918

Total_$2,336,675

CABPNI (one-half)_$1,168,337

The respondent contends that in determining whether petitioner is entitled to any relief under section 722 the stipulated constructive average base period net income for the new textile division of $100,316 applicable to fiscal year 1941 and $179,136 applicable to all subsequent fiscal years should be added to the arithmetic average base period net income of petitioner’s divisions other than textile, and that when this is done, the resulting constructive average base period net income of petitioner’s entire business is less than its average base period net income computed under section 713 (f), supra, which would afford petitioner no relief under section 722, all of which is shown, as follows:

Petitioner has never applied for section 722 relief on account of its old business.

The only question in this case is one of law, and the principles involved therein are the same as were litigated and decided in favor of the Government in Stimson Mill Co., 7 T. C. 1065, affd. (C. A. 9) 163 F. 2d 269, rehearing denied-August 25, 1947, certiorari denied 332 U. S. 824, rehearing denied 332 U. S. 839; Homer Laughlin China Co., 7 T. C. 1325; Dowd-Feder, Inc., 10 T. C. 345, affd. (C. A. 6) 173 F. 2d 673; and Acme Breweries, 15 T. C. 682. Petitioner is not unmindful of these decisions but contends that the facts in the instant case are entirely different from the facts in the decided cases. The distinction which petitioner makes is that the qualifying factor in the decided cases such as a strike in one of the base period years, as was the case in Stimson Mill and Dowd-Feder, or the excessive depreciation rate present in Homer Laughlin had absolutely nothing to do with the earning of profits during the excess profits tax taxable years, whereas in the instant case the qualifying factor of opening up the new textile division during the base period years caused petitioner to earn in excess of $1,200,000 from this division alone during the excess profits tax taxable years. We do not think that this distinction would make inapplicable the legal principles decided in the above cases.

The basic reason behind the above decisions is found in the specific language of section 722 (a)5

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Related

United States Rubber Co. v. Commissioner
29 T.C. 1268 (U.S. Tax Court, 1958)
Central Bag Co. v. Commissioner
27 T.C. 230 (U.S. Tax Court, 1956)
Dayton Rubber Co. v. Commissioner
26 T.C. 389 (U.S. Tax Court, 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 T.C. 389, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dayton-rubber-co-v-commissioner-tax-1956.