Foster v. Commissioner

42 T.C. 974, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 51
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 27, 1964
DocketDocket No. 89865
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 42 T.C. 974 (Foster 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
Foster v. Commissioner, 42 T.C. 974, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 51 (tax 1964).

Opinion

Arundell, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in income tax for tbe calendar year 1956 in tbe amount of $2,773.08. Petitioner alleges tbat instead of a deficiency be bas overpaid bis taxes for 1956 in tbe amount of $251.11.

One error is assigned as follows:

(a) The Commissioner determined that the petitioner’s income from the Emerson Engineers, a partnership, was $14,115.06, and erroneously allocated $13,-562.79 to income from domestic sources and $552.27 to income from foreign sources.

FINDINGS OF FACT-

Some of tbe facts were stipulated and are so found.

Petitioner is an adult citizen of tbe United States and resides in New York, N.Y. He filed bis Federal income tax return for tbe calendar year 1956 with tbe district director of internal revenue in Upper Manhattan, New York City, on April 11,1957.

Petitioner became a nonresident of tbe United States on January 10,1952, and remained a nonresident until July 29,1956, being a nonresident for the required period mentioned in section 911(a) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 of 510 days’ duration in 18 consecutive months for the period ending July 29, 1956.

Petitioner became a partner of Emerson Engineers on December 1, 1950, and was a partner of Emerson Engineers during the entire taxable year 1956.

The method of accounting of tbe Emerson Engineers partnership was the accrual basis, and tbe accounting period was tbe fiscal year ending on November 30 of each year.

Paragraph Fourth of tbe partnership agreement provided tbat all profits and all losses shall be divided between and borne by tbe co-partners in tbe following proportions.1

Name of partner Percent
Alonzo Flack_ 30. 6123
Elmer O. Eremont, Sr_ 24.4898
Charles O’C. Sloane_ 10.2041
Alfred M. S. Strohm_ 8.1633
Elmer O. Fremont, Jr_ 10.2041
Roland B. Anderton, Sr_ 4. 0816
Dana Devereux_ 4.0816
Thomas B. Foster_ 4. 0816
John O. Martin, Jr_ 4.0816
Total percentage_ 100.0000

On October 6, 1951, the partnership agreement, dated December 1, 1950, was amended to read as follows:

Twelfth : Each partner shall he entitled to a monthly drawing account, the amount of which shall be determined and fixed by the majority in interest of all the partners, and shall further be entitled to a distributive share of the ordinary net income based upon his percentage interest of the profits, after subtraction of drawing account.

Emerson Engineers were engineering management consultants of the Arabian American Oil Co. (hereinafter called Aramco) during the years 1952 through July 29,1956.

Petitioner represented Emerson Engineers in Saudi Arabia during the period January 10,1952, through July 29,1956.

The only source of revenue for Emerson Engineers was fees from professional services rendered to various corporations throughout the world.

Paragraph Fifth of the partnership agreement provided: “Fifth : The partners shall devote all their time and attention to the affairs of the copartnership.”

On March 8,1956, the managing partner of the partnership advised petitioner by letter that “Beginning April 1st, 1956, your monthly drawing will be raised from $750.00 per month to $800.00 per month.”

Petitioner’s income for the period beginning January 1,, 1956, through July 29, 1956 (first period), and for the period beginning July 30, 1956, through December 31, 1956 (second period), was as follows:

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The foreign income of the partnership for the year 1956 was in the sum of $18,538.70, all of which was received from Saudi Arabia, and this was for the services that petitioner rendered to Aramco.

The partnership’s fee income from foreign services for the fiscal year ending November 30, 1956, was $18,538.70. The income from domestic sources of the partnership was $455,274.11, and the percentage of gross fees received from foreign sources is 3.9126 percent.

Petitioner reported on his 1956 individual Federal income tax return the amount of $4,869.02 as his distributive share of partnership income. The respondent determined that petitioner’s total distributive share of partnership income was the previously mentioned subtotal of $14,115.06; that 3.9126 percent of this latter amount, or $552.27, represented receipts from foreign sources which were excludable from gross income; and that the remainder, or $13,562.79, was received from sources within the United States and formed a part of petitioner’s reportable distributive share of partnership gross income. In a statement attached to the deficiency notice, respondent explained the adjustment thus:

[[Image here]]
Tour contention that drawings constitute salaries under the existing partnership agreements is disallowed and the percentage of the total partnership income allocable to U.S. sources has been applied before the deduction of these drawings or salaries from distributable income.

ULTIMATE FINDINGS OF FACT

Petitioner’s monthly drawings received from his domestic partnership while he was a resident of Saudi Arabia during the months of January 1, 1956, to July 29, 1956, inclusive, are includable in his distributive share of partnership gross income.

Under the exclusion provisions of section 911(a) of the 1954 Code, petitioner is entitled to exclude from his gross income, as income earned from sources outside of the United States, $552.27, or 3.9126 percent of his distributive share of $14,115.06 of partnership gross income he received for the taxable year 1956.

OPINION

The ultimate question is how much of the $14,115.06 of petitioner’s income from the partnership during the calendar year 1956 is excludable from petitioner’s income under section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.2 The respondent has excluded $552.27, or 3.9126 percent, of $14,115.06. While petitioner, in filing his return, in effect excluded $9,246.04 ($14,115.06 minus the $4,869.02 reported as income from the partnership on his return), we do not understand that he now contends that any more than $7,098.95 3 should be excluded.

This identical issue 4 involving the years 1958, 1954, and 1955 was tried before the U.S. District Court (S.D.N.Y.) in Foster v. United States, 221 F. Supp. 291 (1963), affd. 329 F. 2d 717 (C.A. 2, 1964).

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Related

Vogt v. United States
537 F.2d 405 (Court of Claims, 1976)
Pratt v. Commissioner
64 T.C. 203 (U.S. Tax Court, 1975)
Miller v. Commissioner
52 T.C. 752 (U.S. Tax Court, 1969)
Foster v. Commissioner
42 T.C. 974 (U.S. Tax Court, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
42 T.C. 974, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foster-v-commissioner-tax-1964.