Estate of Briden v. Commissioner

11 T.C. 1095
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedDecember 31, 1948
DocketDocket No. 15802
StatusPublished

This text of 11 T.C. 1095 (Estate of Briden 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
Estate of Briden v. Commissioner, 11 T.C. 1095 (tax 1948).

Opinion

OPINION.

In determining the deficiencies herein, the Commissioner included in the taxable income of decedent certain deductions claimed as business expenses by Briden & Co. and Clinton Dye Works and also sales not entered upon the books of such companies and amounts credited to certain so-called capital accounts in 1940 and 1941 and treated as distributions of net profits to partners. Whether such items are in-cludible in their entirety in the taxable income of decedent depends upon whether or not Francis Coleman, Gladys Coleman, and Xavier Briden were partners with decedent in the business conducted under the name of Clinton Dye Works, and whether Gladys Coleman was a partner with decedent in the business conducted under the name of Briden & Co.

The Commissioner determined that decedent was, during all the years in question, 1936 to 1942, inclusive, the sole owner of the two businesses.

Petitioner does not contend that either company was a partnership for income tax'purposes. In his brief he states, in part, as follows:

It must be borne in mind that Francis Coleman, Gladys Coleman, and Xavier Briden have maintained and still maintain that they are partners in the Clinton Dye Works. Their interests and claims are adverse to that of the Estate of Louis L. Briden and necessarily antagonistic. * * *

His arguments are the same with respect to Briden & Co. He contends that the payments were deductible as compensation paid.

It appears from the record that in February .1944 the petitioner, as administrator of the estate of decedent, commenced proceedings in the Superior Court of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, for the determination of whether Gladys Coleman, Francis Coleman, and Xavier Briden were the surviving partners of Clinton Dye Works and Gladys Coleman a surviving partner of Briden & Co.; that a decree was entered restricting all payments to the three named individuals to no more than $600 a month each; and that in January 1948, by proceedings instituted by Xavier Briden, a receiver was appointed to take charge of the business of both companies. We have no record of a determination of the question of the validity of the partnership as prayed for.

Neither Francis Coleman, Gladys Coleman, nor Xavier Briden contributed any capital out of his own funds to either company. Decedent was sole owner of the two businesses and the relationship between him and such persons, in so far as the businesses are concerned, was that of employer and employees. Whatever the latter received, other than the amounts charged to their personal accounts, were gifts from decedent to them, the giving, or the amounts of which, were wholly in the discretion of decedent. There is no evidence that any of them exercised any authority as a partner or participated in the management of either business, or that decedent intended to create a real partnership relationship by establishing the capital accounts. Although a capital account was established for Robert Coleman on the books of Briden & Co., as of April 9, 1941, no part of the profits for 1941 was credited to that account, and upon his death in November 1942 his administrator received no part of the profits earned by Briden & Co. to the date of his death. All he received was a check for $1,000, the amount credited to the capital account when it was established. Francis Coleman, the administrator, made no claim for any profits earned after April 9,1941.

Upon the record made, the determination of the Commissioner that decedent, during all the years involved, was the sole owner of Clinton Dye Works and Briden & Co. is approved.

With respect to the amounts credited as of December 31, 1941 and 1942, to the capital accounts of Francis Coleman, Gladys Coleman, and Xavier Briden on the books of Clinton Dye Works and to the capital account of Gladys Coleman on the books of Briden & Co., it is alleged in the petition that the Commissioner erred in determining that “there was no arrangement with respect to distribution of profits” of the two companies, and that the “amounts are not proper inclusions in the taxable income of decedent.” Petitioner argues on brief that the amounts in question are deductible as compensation for personal services actually rendered under section 23 (a) (1) (A) of the Internal Revenue Code.

It is contended by the respondent that there is no basis in the pleadings for petitioner’s contention and, furthermore, that there is no evidence in the record that the amounts credited to the capital accounts were intended as additional compensation or that reasonable compensation for personal services rendered by either Francis Coleman, Gladys Coleman, or Xavier Briden was in excess of the amounts paid to them as salary and allowed as deductions by him.

In his reply brief the petitioner states that the partnership returns for the two businesses for the years in question “show a tremendous growth in business, no doubt due to war conditions,” and that “this fact, together with the further fact that these three individuals together with Louis L. Briden were the vital factors in running said businesses” during such years establish that the additional amounts were intended as compensation.

There is no evidence showing that the three individuals were vital factors in running the two businesses. Nor is there any evidence showing that the efforts or duties of the three individuals increased with the growth of the businesses or that such growth was due to their efforts, thus entitling them to additional compensation. On the contrary, there is evidence indicating that there was no change in their duties in the year the capital accounts were set up or thereafter. Xavier Briden was not employed by decedent until May 1941. He was employed as a dyer. His salary was increased from $65 a week to $325, beginning July 1, 1942. Francis Coleman started as a dyer at $50 a week in 1933 or 1934. In 1937 he was receiving $325 a month, which was increased to $600 a month in June 1942. Gladys Coleman did some of the bookkeeping and other office work and exercised some supervision in the office. She received $6,000 in 1941 and $5,800 in 1942. The bookkeeper to whom was assigned the bookkeeping for both companies after November 1942 thereafter received only $35 a week.

The testimony of Xavier Briden and Francis Coleman indicates that they regarded the credits as gifts and not compensation.

Furthermore, the evidence shows that the monthly payments were charged to profit and loss in determining the book profit of the two companies. Thus such monthly payments were treated as an operating expense, i. e., compensation for services rendered. The additional amounts were not so treated.

In our opinion, the evidence fails to show error in the determination of the respondent. The inclusion of the amounts credited to the three individuals on the books of Briden & Co. and/or Clinton Dye Works as of December 31,1941 and 1942, in the taxable income of decedent is approved.

In determining the taxable income of decedent for 1940, 1941, and 1942, the Commissioner included therein the amounts of $1,441.95, $2,966.98, and $4,690.95, respectively, which had been charged on the books of Clinton Dye Works as traveling expenses of Francis Coleman and claimed as a deduction in computing the taxable income of the company.

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Related

Henshaw v. Miller
58 U.S. 212 (Supreme Court, 1855)
Helvering v. Mitchell
303 U.S. 391 (Supreme Court, 1938)
Howell v. Commissioner
10 T.C. 859 (U.S. Tax Court, 1948)

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Bluebook (online)
11 T.C. 1095, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-briden-v-commissioner-tax-1948.