Estate of Whitlock v. Commissioner

59 T.C. No. 48, 59 T.C. 490, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 2
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedDecember 29, 1972
DocketDocket No. 386-70
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 59 T.C. No. 48 (Estate of Whitlock 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 Whitlock v. Commissioner, 59 T.C. No. 48, 59 T.C. 490, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 2 (tax 1972).

Opinions

OPINION

FORRESTER, Judge:

Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners’ income tax of $25,106.64, $1,552.76, $17,328.88, and $141,-985.23 for the taxable years 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1967, respectively. The main issue we must decide is whether petitioners, who, for the taxable years 1964, 1965, and 1967, were U.S. shareholders subject to tax under section 551(b) 1 on income of a controlled foreign corporation, were required to include in gross income for such taxable years any amounts under section 951(a) with respect to such corporation. In addition, we must pass upon the constitutionality of the tax imposed on an amount equal to petitioners’ pro rata share of their controlled foreign corporation’s increase in earnings invested in U.S. property. Finally, we must decide whether respondent’s determination of a deficiency for the taxable year 1963 was barred by the statute of limitations.

All of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation and all exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

During the years involved in this proceeding Leonard E. Whitlock and Georgia M. Whitlock were husband and wife residing in Stafford, Kans. Leonard E. Whitlock died on October 11, 1967, while a resident of Stafford, Kans. On January 5, 1968, Georgia M. Whitlock, his widow, was duly appointed executrix of the Estate of Leonard E. Whitlock by the Probate Court of Stafford County, Kans. At all times since then she has acted in that capacity, and is the duly qualified and still acting executrix of the Estate of Leonard E. Whit-lock. At the time she filed the petition in this case, she resided in Stafford Kans. For convenience, we shall hereinafter sometimes refer to Leonard E. Whitlock and Georgia M. Whitlock as Leonard and Georgia, or, simply, petitioners.

Petitioners filed joint Federal income tax returns for the calendar years 1963 and 1964 with the district director of internal revenue in Wichita, Kans., and filed a joint Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1965 with the district director of internal revenue in Dallas, Tex. After Leonard’s death, Georgia filed a joint Federal income tax return for the taxable year 1967 for Leonard E. Whitlock, deceased, and Georgia M. Whitlock with the district director of internal revenue in Wichita, Kans. All of these returns were filed on the cash basis.

During the years 1963 through 1967, Leonard (until the time of his death) and Georgia were both U.S. citizens.

Whitlock Oil Services, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Oil Services), was a foreign corporation incorporated under the laws of the Republic of Panama. For each of its taxable years 1963 through 1967, Oil Services’ taxable year was the calendar year.

During 1963 and 1964, petitioners, as joint tenants with right of survivorship, owned all of Oil Services’ stock. During the first half of 1965 Leonard relinquished all of his interest in Oil Services’ stock, and thereafter, during the last half of 1965, all of 1966, and all of 1967, Georgia held all of Oil Services’ stock.

At a point during the years 1963 through 1967, Oil Services acquired and, at the end of each year noted, held U.S. property (as defined in section 956(b)) having adjusted bases as follows:

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At the end of each of the years 1963 through 1967, Oil Services’ retained earnings and profits (computed with reference to section 1.956-1 (b), Income Tax Regs.) were sufficient in amount so that they did not limit the amounts, if any, otherwise includable in petitioners’ gross income under section 951(a), if such section is applicable. The aforesaid earnings and profits were accumulated prior to 1963, except to the extent of the following amounts:

1. Earnings and profits accumulated in 1963_$26, 459. 99
2. Earnings and profits representing undistributed foreign personal holding company income and excludable from earnings and profits under sec. 1.956-l(b), Income Tax Regs., for the year:
(a) 1964. 6, 865. OS
(b) 1965. 17, 997. 49
(c) 1966. 11, 024. 65
(d) 1967 14, 633. 07

Prior to 1964, Oil Services had never been a foreign personal holding company within the meaning of section 552, nor had its shareholders included in gross income any amount under section 551 with respect to that corporation. However, during the years 1964 through 1967, Oil Services was a foreign personal holding company as defined in section 552.

For the periods listed below Oil Services derived gross income as follows:

Gross income Jan. 1,1964- Dec. 1,1964- Jan. 1, 1967-

Nov. 30,1964 Dee. 31, 1966 Dec. 31,1967

Interest. $6,865.08 $17,997.49 $18,501.65

Miscellaneous... 426.00 .

In computing Oil Services’ foreign personal holding company income for 1967 petitioners deducted $4,786.04 under section 954(b)(5), as deductions allocable to the $18,501.55 of interest income for that year. Of the $4,786.04 deducted $3,868.48 represented “Federal income tax.”

For the years 1964 through 1967 Oil Services had undistributed foreign personal holding company income which consisted entirely of interest of a type not described in section 954(c)(3) or 954(c)(4), and which was includable in petitioners’ gross income under section 551 as follows:

Undistributed foreign personal holding company inerme includable in petitioners* gross Year income under sec. 661

1964_1_$6, 865. 08

1965_ 17,997.49

1966_ 11,024.65

1967_ 14,633.07

In their 1967 Federal income tax return petitioners included $13,715.51 in gross income under section 551.

If sections 951 and 956(a) may be constitutionally applied to this case (which application petitioners deny), the following amounts would have been included in petitioners’ gross income for the taxable year 1963 as their pro rata share of Oil Services’ increase in earnings invested in U.S. property:

Account receivable from L. E. Whitlock Truck Services, Inc_ $1, 153

Note receivable from Henry Zipf- 2, 500

Cotina Corp. stock_ 10, 000

13, 653

Less: Current and previously taxed subpart F income- 0

Total amount includable in petitioners’ gross income- 13, 653

The aforesaid amount, which petitioners omitted from gross income on their 1963 joint Federal income tax return, is in excess of 25 percent of the amount of gross income stated in that return.

Pursuant to section 6501(c)(4) petitioners (or their duly authorized representatives) and respondent timely consented in writing to extend the period of limitations for the years 1964 and 1965 to June 30,1970, The parties did not enter into such a consent for 1963.

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Bluebook (online)
59 T.C. No. 48, 59 T.C. 490, 1972 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/estate-of-whitlock-v-commissioner-tax-1972.