Four Star Oil & Gas Co. v. United States

49 Fed. Cl. 755, 88 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5111, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 126, 2001 WL 788633
CourtUnited States Court of Federal Claims
DecidedJuly 11, 2001
DocketNo. 99-899 T
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 49 Fed. Cl. 755 (Four Star Oil & Gas Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Federal Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Four Star Oil & Gas Co. v. United States, 49 Fed. Cl. 755, 88 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5111, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 126, 2001 WL 788633 (uscfc 2001).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

HEWITT, Judge.

This is a suit to recover interest assessed on plaintiffs payments of windfall profit excise taxes for the second quarter of 1980. Plaintiff contends that the interest was improperly assessed because there was no deficiency in plaintiffs payments of windfall profit excise taxes at the time in question. Defendant Internal Revenue Service (the Service) argues that the deficiency interest was properly assessed under then-current law. The suit comes before the court on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the court GRANTS defendant’s motion for summary judgment and DENIES plaintiffs motion for summary judgment with respect to the assessment of deficiency interest during the period March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982, and GRANTS plaintiffs motion for summary judgment with respect to the assessment of deficiency interest during the period September 29, 1987 through October 9,1987.

I. Background

The parties have filed Joint Stipulations (Jt.Stip.), accompanied by Joint Exhibits (Jt.Exh.). The Joint Stipulations are statements of fact regarding the events addressed by this case, and the Joint Exhibits document several of the filings and transactions between the parties. At the court’s request the parties agreed to several additional stipulations regarding interest rates applicable to tax overpayment and underpayments in the periods at issue in this case. Supplemental Joint Stipulation (Supp.Jt.Stip.).1

The suit concerns plaintiffs windfall profit excise tax liability for the second quarter of [757]*7571980, for which plaintiff filed a return on August 15, 1980. The final determination of plaintiffs tax liability was reached on November 24,1993. In the intervening thirteen years, the Service made a number of adjustments to plaintiffs excise tax liability for the second quarter of 1980, seeking in each adjustment to eliminate an apparent deficiency or overpayment and reduce both plaintiffs and defendant’s obligations to zero. Jt. Stip. 111114,19, 24, 30, 33.

These adjustments resulted in two periods (March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982, and March 7, 1986 through September 28, 1987) when plaintiffs account was deficient. Jt. Exh. 28. The Service assessed deficiency interest with respect to those periods. Id. During the remainder of the thirteen-year period, plaintiffs account was overpaid and earned overpayment interest. Id. Plaintiffs complaint addresses the assessment of deficiency interest for the period from March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982, and the effects of that assessment on overpayment and underpayment interest assessments thereafter. Complaint HH12, 16. A detailed account of the adjustments is set forth in Appendix A to this opinion. This discussion summarizes the adjustments to the extent necessary for the disposition of this case.

Plaintiff, under its former name of Getty Oil Company, filed a windfall profit excise tax return for the second quarter of 1980 on August 15, 1980. Jt. Stip. 1110; Jt. Exh. 4. The return was due on August 31, 1980. Jt. Stip. 119. The return showed an estimated tax liability of $74,330,123.2 Id. 1110. On June 23, 1986, the Service abated plaintiffs tax liability for the second quarter of 1980 in the amount of $16,479,872 and credited that amount to plaintiffs obligation for the fourth quarter of 1980, effective February 28, 1981. Id. H 14. The Service determined that plaintiff was entitled to $1,436,906 as a refund, representing the interest earned by the overpayment of $16,479,872 from September 1, 1980 through February 28, 1981, and from January 1, 1983 through March 6, 1986. Id. H15; Jt. Exh. 28.3 The $1,436,906 in interest was paid directly to plaintiff on March 6, 1986 or June 23,1986.4 Jt. Stip. 1115.

On or about July 14, 1986, the Service abated plaintiffs tax liability for the second quarter of 1980 in the amount of $388,711 and credited that amount to plaintiffs obligation for the third quarter of 1980, effective November 30, 1980. Jt. Stip. 1119. The Service determined that plaintiff was entitled to $17,659 as a refund, representing the interest earned by the overpayment of $388,711 from September 1, 1980 through November 30,1980 and from January 1,1983 through July 14,1986. Id. 1120; Jt. Exh. 28. The Service paid the $17,659 in interest directly to plaintiff. Jt. Stip. U 20.

[758]*758On or about September 28, 1987, the Service assessed additional windfall profit excise tax on plaintiff for the second quarter of 1980 in the amount of $580,552. Jt. Stip. V24. The Service also assessed interest of $748,152, representing interest accrued from September 1, 1980 through September 28, 1987. Id. On October 9,1987, plaintiff made a payment of $1,328,704 for the deficiency of $580,552 and the accrued deficiency interest of $748,152.5 Id. The deficiency assessment, coupled with the abatements of tax liability made in 1986, meant that plaintiff had both an accrued overpayment interest balance (not earning interest) and a principal deficiency (earning interest) from March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982. As calculated on September 28, 1987, the non-interest-bearing overpayment interest balance effective February 28, 1981 was $957,747,® and the principal deficiency was $580,552. Jt. Stip. V 24.

The Service assessed additional excise tax on plaintiff for the second quarter of 1980 in the amount of $73,851 on or about April 26, 1993. Jt. Stip. II30. On or about November 29, 1993, the Service abated plaintiffs excise tax liability for the second quarter of 1980 by $256,007. Id. 1133. The net decrease in plaintiffs assessed tax liability was $182,156. Id. II32. The Service made a refund of $706,317 to plaintiff on November 5, 1993. Id. The refund represented the sum of the net decrease in liability of $182,156, an additional $17,423 in overpayment interest,6 7 and an abatement by $506,738 of previously assessed deficiency interest.8 Id. VII32-33. As a result of the November 1993 net abatement of plaintiffs liability, the non-interest-bearing overpayment interest balance effective February 28, 1981 was $968,587, and the principal deficiency was $398,396. Jt. Exh. 28.

As a result of these adjustments, plaintiffs second quarter account was deficient, and accrued deficiency interest, from March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982, and from March 7, 1986 through September 28, 1987. Jt. Exh. 28. For the remainder of the period September 1, 1980 through November 5, 1993, plaintiffs second quarter account was overpaid and earned overpayment interest. Id. Plaintiff filed a claim with the Service on August 30, 1999, seeking a refund of the deficiency interest assessed for the period March 1, 1981 through December 31, 1982. Jt. Exh. 3. Because the assessment of deficiency interest for that period affected the [759]*759amount of overpayment interest and deficiency interest accrued from January 1, 1983 through November 5, 1993, plaintiff also sought additional overpayment interest and a reduction of deficiency interest to address those effects.

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49 Fed. Cl. 755, 88 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5111, 2001 U.S. Claims LEXIS 126, 2001 WL 788633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/four-star-oil-gas-co-v-united-states-uscfc-2001.