Dole v. Commissioner

43 T.C. 697, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 123
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedFebruary 19, 1965
DocketDocket Nos. 1687-63, 1688-63, 1689-63, 1690-63
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 43 T.C. 697 (Dole 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
Dole v. Commissioner, 43 T.C. 697, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 123 (tax 1965).

Opinions

DawsoN, Judge:2

Respondent determined the following deficiencies against the petitioners:

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The issues for decision are:

(1) Whether petitioners are entitled to exclude from their gross incomes during the taxable years 1958 through 1960 the fair rental value and cost of utilities of company-owned houses furnished to them by their employer, Packard Mills, Inc.

(2) Alternatively, and to be decided only if the fair rental value of such lodging is determined to be includable in petitioners’ gross income, whether the fair rental value and cost of utilities of the houses are in the amounts as determined by the respondent or in some lesser amounts.

(3) Whether petitioner Joseph M. Morse received additional income in the taxable years 1958 through 1960 because of his use of a company-owned automobile.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated by the parties and are found accordingly.

Gordon S. and Elizabeth D. Dole are husband and wife who reside at 821 School Street, Webster, Mass. They filed their joint Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1958,1959, and 1960 with the district director of internal revenue, Boston, Mass.

George M. and Mildred L. Fitzpatrick are husband and wife who reside at 768 School Street, Webster, Mass. They filed their joint Federal income tax return for the taxable year 1960 with the district director of internal revenue at Boston, Mass. Mildred L. Fitzpatrick also filed her individual income tax returns for the years 1958 and 1959 with the district director of internal revenue at Boston.

J oseph M. and Barbara M. Morse are husband and wife who reside at 835 School Street, Webster, Mass. They filed their joint Federal income tax returns for the years 1958,1959, and 1960 with the district director of internal revenue at Boston, Mass.

J oseph M. Morse, Gordon S. Dole, and Mildred L. Fitzpatrick will sometimes be referred to collectively as petitioners.

Packard Mills, Inc., is a corporation located in Webster, Mass., and is engaged in the business of manufacturing woolen cloth. It is a so-called vertical mill, i.e., a complete unit within itself whereby raw materials are taken in and put through the blending, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing processes before coming out as a finished product for shipment to coat manufacturers.

The majority stock interest in Packard Mills, Inc., is owned by Ralph K. Hubbard and his family. Ralph K. Hubbard is president and treasurer of Packard Mills, having held the position of treasurer from 1921 to date, and having held the position of president from 1929 to 1956 and from 1961 to the present time.

During the taxable years 1958 through 1960, Packard Mills owned five residences on School Street in Webster, Mass. These residences are all located approximately 1 mile from the mill. One of these residences is located at 835 School Street and was occupied by Joseph M. Morse and his family during the years in issue. Another of these residences is located at 821 School Street and was occupied by Gordon S. Dole and his family during these years. Another residence is located at 768 School Street and was occupied by Mildred Fitzpatrick and her family during these years. The fourth residence is used as a guesthouse by Packard Mills, and the fifth is rented to someone unconnected with Packard Mills.

All of the company-owned houses on School Street and the residence occupied by Ralph K. Hubbard are located within 100 yards of each other. The residences at 821 School Street and 835 School Street, together with the so-called guesthouse, were acquired by Packard Mills in the early 1940’s. The company-owned house at 768 School Street was acquired by Packard Mills in 1955.

Since the early 1940’s, the management of Packard Mills has made it a policy to require its key personnel to live in close proximity to the mill, primarily to promote its efficient operation. To this end, the mill management made it a practice to furnish decent living quarters to its key employees as near to the mill as possible.

Packard Mills bought the houses occupied by the petitioners rather than build houses at the millsite because the mill yard is not a desirable place to live.

When Packard Mills acquired the houses occupied by petitioners there was no desirable residential property located any closer to the mill than these houses.

Joseph M. Morse started to work for Packard Mills in 1938. In 1942 he became assistant superintendent and in 1946 he became superintendent. During the years 1958 through 1960 Morse was the only superintendent of the mill and he had only one assistant superintendent working with him, namely Gordon S. Dole, who was first employed as assistant superintendent in 1954.

During the taxable years in issue Morse and Dole were solely in charge of supervising the 350 production personnel employed at Packard Mills. The mill operated on a 24-hour-per-day basis, Monday through Friday, and it generally operated two shifts on Saturday. For a mill its size the usual number of supervisory personnel in charge of production work would be three or four persons, including a night superintendent. However, Packard Mills had no night superintendent because Morse and Dole handled these responsibilities.

When Morse became assistant superintendent of Packard Mills in 1942, he was told by Ralph K. Hubbard that he would be on call 24 hours per day and that he would have to live in a company-owned house to be in close proximity to the mill for better supervisory efficiency, to be available in the case of emergency breakdowns at the mill, and to be on hand for conferences. At that time Morse moved into the company-owned house at 821 School Street and he continued to reside there when he became superintendent of the mill in 1946. He later moved out of the company-owned house at 821 School Street and moved into the house at 835 School Street, where he resided during the years 1958 through 1960.

When Dole became assistant superintendent of the mill in 1954, he was told by Ralph K. Hubbard that he would be on call 24 hours per day and that he would have to live in a company-owned house close to the mill so that he would be readily available for emergencies and conferences.

Morse’s usual working day at the mill was 10 to 12 hours, starting at about 6 a.m. and continuing to 5 p.m. Morse also worked at the mill on some Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays and often returned to work at tlie mill in the evenings. Morse found, that his job at the mill required him to live close to it because of the necessity for handling emergencies that arose while he was at home. He also found it necessary to check at the mill at odd hours during the night to make sure that the routine of the mill was functioning properly.

The emergencies at the mill which required the presence of Morse included labor difficulties as well as breakdowns in machinery. Breakdowns in machinery necessitated supervisory decisions by Morse as to whether the work in process should be rerouted around the breakdown or should await the repair of the broken machine.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
43 T.C. 697, 1965 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dole-v-commissioner-tax-1965.