Fuller v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

313 F.2d 73
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 5, 1963
DocketNo. 14859
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 313 F.2d 73 (Fuller v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fuller v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 313 F.2d 73 (6th Cir. 1963).

Opinion

WEICK, Circuit Judge.

This review involves the validity of determinations of income tax deficiencies and fraud penalties made by the Commissioner against the estate of Charles Willis, deceased, for the tax years 1949 to 1954 inclusive and the liability of his sister, Lucille Fuller, as transferee of his assets.

The case was submitted to the Tax Court on stipulations, testimony of witnesses, exhibits and briefs. The court in a Memorandum Findings of Fact and Opinion upheld determinations made by the Commissioner.

It was the claim of petitioners that the income tax deficiencies were barred by the statute of limitations. This statute would not be a bar, however, if decedent filed false and fraudulent returns for the years in question with intent to evade the tax. 26 U.S.C. § 276(a) (1939 Int.Rev.Code); 26 U.S.C. § 6501(e) (1) and (2) (1954 Int.Rev.Code); Howell v. Commissioner, 175 F.2d 240 (C.A.6). The burden of proof was upon the Commissioner to establish fraud by clear and convincing evidence. Drieborg v. Commissioner, 225 F.2d 216 (C.A.6).

To sustain this burden, the Commissioner offered proof in the Tax Court that in each of the years specific items of income were omitted from the returns. These included dividends on stock in each of the years which were credited to him in Ms account with the broker, rental income in three of the years and capital gains in all of the years except 1951. In 1954 capital gains of $9,811.92 arising from the sale of stock were omitted. We think the Tax Court was justified in finding that Willis knew that these dividends were credited to Mm and were subject to taxation. The notices sent to him by the broker so indicated. Willis had sufficient intelligence to buy and sell stocks and to read the stock market news in New York newspapers which he usually purchased on Sundays.

In addition to the omission of these specific items of income from the returns there were other indicia of fraud. Mr. Willis, who was a police officer in Youngstown, had a safe deposit box in Mahoning National Bank under the name of Charles Sanford. He had a brokerage account with Butler, Wick & Co. under the same assumed name. He bought and sold securities in this account. All of the shares in this account were held by the brokers for the account of Charles Sanford, except 400 shares of stock of Aetna Standard Engineering Company which were registered in decedent’s name. He closed his safe deposit box on October 19, 1955 and on the same day purchased with cash a New York draft payable to Charles Sanford in the amount of $60,000. He deposited the draft in a savings account in a Cleveland bank. A few days before his death he withdrew the funds from his savings account, purchased another draft and endorsed it over to his sister, Lucille Fuller, who depositéd it in her savings account. The Commissioner made a jeopardy assessment in order to tie up these funds.

The Tax Court found that the Commissioner had shown fraud by the consistent and consecutive omissions of income from the tax returns and by the other circumstances in the case. Drieborg v. Commissioner, supra; Kurnick v. Commissioner, 232 F.2d 678 (C.A.6). Our review of the evidence has failed to convince us that this finding is clearly erroneous and we are, therefore, bound by it. Commissioner v. Duberstein, 363 U.S. 278, 80 S.Ct. 1190, 4 L.Ed.2d 1218; Kurnick v. Commissioner, supra.

This leaves for our consideration only the question of the propriety of the deficiency determined by the Commissioner. The Tax Court treated this issue with the following language:

“Once the issue of the statute of limitations has been eliminated, the burden of proving error in the deficiency, and particularly in its [76]*76amount, rests upon petitioners. No convincing evidence as to error in any specific item has been produced.
“As to the year 1955, for which the burden is entirely upon decedent’s estate, the deficiency must also be sustained as determined.”

We agree that the burden of proof with respect to this issue was on the taxpayers. Bryan v. Commissioner, 209 F.2d 822, 825 (C.A.5).

We find no fault with the deficiencies and penalties based on failure to include in the returns the specific items of dividends, rents and capital gains. These items were sustained by the evidence.

Petitioners complain about the determination of “other income” in the amount of $30,160.45 which the Commissioner calculated by the following analysis of the source of funds for the bank draft in the amount of $60,000:

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313 F.2d 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fuller-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-ca6-1963.