Filios v. Commissioner

224 F.3d 16, 2000 WL 1154503
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedAugust 22, 2000
Docket99-2180
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 224 F.3d 16 (Filios v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Filios v. Commissioner, 224 F.3d 16, 2000 WL 1154503 (1st Cir. 2000).

Opinion

TORRUELLA, Chief Judge.

This appeal arises from a decision of the United States Tax Court finding petitioners Louis A. Filios and Emma L. Filios liable for deficiencies in their 1992 and 1993 income tax payments. The question presented to the Tax Court was whether petitioner Louis Filios was pursuing horse racing and breeding for the primary purpose of earning a profit during the years in question. The Tax Court held that the requisite profit motive was lacking. See generally Filios v. Commissioner, No. 15719-96, 1999 WL 163035 (U.S.Tax Ct.1999).

For the reasons stated below, we affirm the decision of the Tax Court.

BACKGROUND

The Tax Court meticulously addressed the facts in this case. See Filios, 1999 WL 163035, at *l-*5. That discussion, based predominately on the parties’ stipulation of facts, is amply supported by the record. Accordingly, we largely reiterate it here.

I. Petitioners

Petitioners are Louis A. Filios and Emma L. Filios. Petitioners were married and lived in West Springfield, Massachusetts, when they filed the petition in this case. On March 12, 1997, Emma L. Filios died. Petitioner Louis A. Filios is executor of the Estate of Emma L. Filios. (Hereafter, references to petitioner are to Louis A. Filios.)

II. Westfield Gage Co.

In 1955, petitioner founded Westfield Gage Co., a corporation which manufactures precision parts for airplanes and jet engines. Since its inception, petitioner has been the company’s president and sole shareholder. Over the years, he generally worked seven or eight hours per day at Westfield Gage.

Petitioner did not prepare a written business plan, conduct economic or business studies, or hire consultants for West-field Gage. However, when the corporation was having financial difficulties, Westfield Gage’s treasurer, Eugene Kida, prepared budgets. In addition, petitioner testified that, if Westfield Gage was losing money, he would have sought advice on how to turn the business around. He explained that Westfield Gage “had to make money ... so I could pay for my horses.”

From 1979 to 1993, Westfield Gage had a total taxable income of $8,842,137. It had gross receipts of $10,523,177 in 1992 and $9,707,359 in 1993; net profits for the same years were $972,058 and $102,470, respectively.

Mary Kuta was Westfield Gage’s bookkeeper from 1955 to 1992. She kept West-field Gage’s books and records, filed its quarterly tax returns, and prepared its payroll. Eugene Kida, a certified public accountant with a master’s degree in business administration, worked for Westfield Gage from 1984 to 1995 as company treasurer. Kida also prepared petitioners’ personal income tax returns, which required that he examine petitioner’s horse racing and breeding records.

III.Petitioner’s Horse Racing and Breeding Activity

Petitioner bought his first thoroughbred in 1955. In general, he spent between ten and twenty hours per week engaged in horse racing and breeding activities. Petitioner never trained or stabled any of his horses at or near his home in West Springfield, he did not own a farm or any equipment used to train his horses, and neither he nor members of his family rode the horses. On average, he retained his horses three to four years, giving him adequate time to assess their racing potential. Peti *18 tioner’s best horses generally ran in races paying purses from $12,000 to $30,000.

A. Horse Publications

Dating back to 1959, and continuing through the years in question, petitioner subscribed to various industry publications, including The Blood Horse and Thoroughbred Record. In addition to these periodicals, he read numerous horse racing and breeding books during this time. He also studied The Blood Horse Stallion Register, which was published annually. It contains' information about thoroughbred stallions, such as pedigrees, racing records, and racing earnings. Petitioner used The Blood Horse Stallion Register to decide which horses to breed and which to buy.

B. Vitamin and Mineral Supplements

Initially, petitioner’s thoroughbreds were not high-quality horses. He believed, however, that giving the horses vitamin and mineral supplements would increase their value. To this end, petitioner, by his own account, was one of the pioneers in using nutrition and vitamin supplements as part of the diet for his stable of horses. Petitioner personally decided which vitamins and minerals to use, mixed them, and sent them to the trainers to give to the horses. Petitioner did not, however, keep records showing which vitamins or minerals he gave to each of his horses or the nutrition and diet of each horse.

C. Breeding and Training

As indicated, petitioner spent ten to twenty hours per week on his horse racing and breeding activity. He attended horse auctions to buy and sell horses. He talked to breeders. He visited the farms in Kentucky and tracks in New Jersey where he stabled his horses. He reviewed mail, and he prepared the vitamin and mineral supplements for the horses. In addition, petitioner signed all checks relating to the activity and reviewed all of the track purse and race results.

Petitioner went to England, France, and Germany in 1977 on a tour of breeding farms, race tracks, and training centers. Petitioner also toured similar facilities in Ireland on a date not specified in the record. Further, he took courses about horses at Cornell University in 1985, 1986, and 1990, and stud manager’s courses in 1964 and 1970.

D.Records and Reports

Westfield Gage (not petitioner) paid Mary Kuta to keep the records for petitioner’s horse racing and breeding activity from 1955 through 1993. The record indicates that prior to 1992, Kuta spent ten to fifteen percent of her time working on the horse racing and breeding activity, and part of this time was spent gathering information for petitioner’s tax returns. In 1992 and 1993, Kuta worked only on the horse activity.

Kuta decided which records of the horse racing and breeding activity to keep and how to keep them. Although petitioner conceded that he did not know exactly what types of records Kuta maintained, Harry Landry, a commercial race-horse breeder who was hired by petitioner as an expert witness, opined that petitioner’s records were “excellent and meticulous” and were “very much in line with industry practice.”

Petitioner had a separate bank account for his horse racing and breeding pursuits from 1963 through the years at issue. Kuta maintained the expense records for these accounts. She kept copies of canceled checks, check registers, invoices, and other correspondence. Further, Kuta kept copies of invoices from petitioner’s trainers and from farms where his horses were stabled. She also kept statements from racetracks at which petitioner’s horses raced showing the race dates, his horses’ standing in those races, and the total amounts that his horses won. Although Kuta did not regularly prepare records *19

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224 F.3d 16, 2000 WL 1154503, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/filios-v-commissioner-ca1-2000.