De Soto Sec. Co. v. Commissioner

25 T.C. 175, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 53
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 31, 1955
DocketDocket No. 49930
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 25 T.C. 175 (De Soto Sec. 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
De Soto Sec. Co. v. Commissioner, 25 T.C. 175, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 53 (tax 1955).

Opinion

OPINION.

Raum, Judge:

Respondent has determined a deficiency in the personal holding company surtax, of petitioner for its fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, in the amount of $16,904.29. In computing its sub-chapter A pet income petitioner claimed and has been allowed a deduction for income taxes accrued in respect of its fiscal year ended June 30, 1950. The sole issue is whether in making such computation petitioner may also deduct amounts paid during the above taxable year in respect of income taxes owed on account of prior taxable years.

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

Petitioner is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, with principal address in Kenilworth, Illinois. It filed its corporation income tax and personal holding company returns for its fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, on the cash basis with the collector of internal revenue for the first district of Illinois.

Petitioner had filed its income tax returns on a calendar year basis for the calendar year 1948 and prior thereto. On March 31, 1949, permission was obtained from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to change the taxable period to a fiscal year ending June 30. The first income tax return filed in accordance with this change was for the period January 1,1949, to June 30, 1949. Thereafter, all returns have been filed on the basis of a fiscal year ending June 30 of each year.

During its fiscal year ended June 30,1950, petitioner was a personal holding company. Subchapter A net income for the fiscal period January 1,1949, to June 30, 1949, after deduction of Federal income taxes paid during that period was $282,127.11. The Federal income taxes paid as aforesaid were as follows:

(a) First quarterly installment of income tax for the calendar
year 1948_$16, 786.33
(b) Second quarterly installment of income tax for the calendar
year 1948_ 16, 786. 33
(c) Income tax deficiency for the calendar year 1942_ 3,128.09
(d) Income tax deficiency for the calendar year 1943_ 463.79
Total-$37,164. 54

As of June 30,1950, petitioner accrued Federal income tax for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, in the amount of $37,098.55. That amount was deducted by petitioner in computing its subchapter A net income and the deduction so claimed was allowed by respondent. In addition thereto, petitioner paid during its fiscal year 1950 Federal income taxes in respect of prior taxable periods as follows:

(a) Income tax deficiency for the calendar years 1942 to 1945,
inclusive_ $821.17
(b) Income tax deficiency for the calendar year 1946_ 1,638.57
(c) Third quarterly installment of income tax for the calendar
year 1948_ 16, 786.33
(d) Final installment of income tax for the calendar year 1948_ 16,786.32
(e) First half payment of income tax for the period January 1,1949,
to June 30,1949_ 8,985.22
(f) Final payment of income tax for the period January 1, 1949, to
June 30,1949_ 8,985.22
Total-$54,002.83

Petitioner deducted the foregoing sum of $54,002.83 in computing subchapter A net income for its fiscal year 1950. Respondent has disallowed such deduction.

In computing its subchapter A net income in each of its taxable years 1942 to 1948, inclusive, petitioner deducted only Federal income taxes paid during each such year and did not accrue any Federal income tax liability during that period.

Petitioner’s subchapter A net income for its fiscal year ended June 30,1950, after deduction of Federal income taxes accrued but without deduction of Federal income taxes paid, was $618,752.51. During that fiscal year it paid $591,800 in taxable dividends excluding (a) dividends claimed in the preceding yea,r under section 504 (c), and (b) deficiency dividends as defined in section 506 (c). The dividend carryover in that year from the first and second preceding taxable years was $6,078.50. Petitioner’s dividends paid credit amounted to $597,878.50.

Section 505 of the Internal Eevenue Code of 1939 reads in part as follows:

For the purposes of this subchapter the term, “Subchapter A Net Income” means the net income with the following adjustments:
(a) Additional Deductions. — There shall be allowed as. deductions—
(1) Federal income, war-profits, and excess-profits taxes paid or accrued during the taxable year * * *

The controversy before us is whether petitioner may deduct under these provisions both the taxes accrued and the taxes paid by it during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1950, and this controversy turns upon the meaning to be accorded to the words “paid or accrued.” In M. W. Alworth, 38 B. T. A. 656, we held that “paid or accrued” must be construed according to the method of accounting used by the taxpayer, and that a cash basis taxpayer could not deduct taxes accrued for the year in question which were in fact paid during the following year. We reiterated that conclusion in Clarion Oil Co., 1 T. C. 751, 757-758, which, however, was explicitly disapproved by the Court of Appeals for the district of Columbia, Commissioner v. Clarion Oil Co., 148 F. 2d 671, certiorari denied 325 U. S. 881. The Court of Appeals held that since the purpose of the statute was to impose a penalty tax upon undistributed net income of personal holding companies, the use of a particular accounting system in determining net income has no “relevancy to the subject matter of what, for the purposes of the newly added provision in relation to personal holding companies, is taxable as undistributed income.” (Italics in original.) 148 F. 2d at p. 675. The fact that the taxpayer was on the cash basis of accounting was held irrelevant, and it was permitted to deduct the taxes imposed upon it with respect to the year involved, notwithstanding that they were not in fact paid until a subsequent year. At the same time, however, the Court of Appeals made it clear that the corporation could not deduct taxes paid during that year which had been imposed with respect to a previous year. The court said (148 F. 2d at p. 676):

The scheme as a whole contemplates the application of the penalty tax solely to the income transactions of a single tax year, and it is income remaining after dividend disbursements and tax payments for the tawable year which is attacked by this surtax. Hence tawes paid for a previous year, just as net income from a previous year, have no proper place in the calculation.

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De Soto Sec. Co. v. Commissioner
25 T.C. 175 (U.S. Tax Court, 1955)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
25 T.C. 175, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/de-soto-sec-co-v-commissioner-tax-1955.