Garrison v. Commissioner

86 T.C. No. 48, 86 T.C. 764, 1986 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 116
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 22, 1986
DocketDocket No. 23172-83
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 86 T.C. No. 48 (Garrison 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
Garrison v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. No. 48, 86 T.C. 764, 1986 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 116 (tax 1986).

Opinion

STERRETT, Chief Judge:

By notice of deficiency dated June 16, 1983, respondent determined a deficiency in petitioners’ Federal income tax for the taxable year ended December 31, 1980, in the amount of $928. The issues for resolution are (1) whether expenses petitioner incurred as an author in writing a book are subject to the provisions of section 280,1 (2) if section 280 applies to authors, whether petitioner is excluded from its coverage by the statute’s effective date provision, and (3) if section 280 applies to authors, whether respondent is precluded from applying the statute by virtue of section 2119.2

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulations of facts, together with the exhibits attached thereto, are incorporated herein by this reference.

Lloyd McKim Garrison (hereinafter petitioner) and Sarah Garrison are husband and wife and resided in New York, New York, when the petition was filed in this case. They timely filed their joint Federal income tax return for the taxable year 1980 with the Internal Revenue Service Center in Holtsville, New York. The return was prepared under the cash method of accounting.

Since approximately 1970, petitioner has been in the trade or business of being an author. In 1972, he entered into a contract with Random House, Inc., a publisher, to publish a book entitled “Still a Distant Drum.” Under the terms of the contract, petitioner received two advances against royalties. He received an advance of $2,500 in 1972 and an advance of $2,500 in 1978, and these amounts were reported by petitioner as income in the respective taxable years. At the time of trial, petitioner had not finished writing the book “Still a Distant Drum” and, thus, it obviously has not been published.

During 1980, the taxable year in issue, petitioner paid or incurred the following expenses with respect to writing the aforenoted book:

Depreciation. $79
Dues and publications. 47
Office supplies. 267
Rent. 1,370
Repairs. 97
Telephone. 328
Utilities. 207
Cleaning. 126
Books and periodicals. 198
Business entertainment. 132
Freelance typist and copying. 204
3,055

Petitioner claimed deductions for these expenditures for the taxable year 1980. Respondent disallowed these claimed deductions on the ground that section 280 required petitioner to capitalize the deductions and depreciate them under the income forecast method.

OPINION

The first issue for resolution is whether section 280 applies to the expenses petitioner incurred as an author in writing the book entitled “Still a Distant Drum.” Petitioner argues that section 280 is not applicable to authors because the statute was intended to apply to tax shelters. Respondent maintains that, while section 280 was aimed primarily at tax shelters, its language was drafted broadly and encompasses authors.

The pertinent provisions of section 280, which was enacted as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1976 and amended in 1978,3 provide as follows:

SEC. 280. CERTAIN EXPENDITURES INCURRED IN PRODUCTION OF FILMS, BOOKS, RECORDS, OR SIMILAR PROPERTY.
(a) GENERAL Rule. — In the case of an individual, except in the case of production costs which are charged to capital account,[4] amounts attributable to the production of a film, sound recording, book, or similar property which are otherwise deductible under this chapter shall be allowed as deductions only in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b). * * *
(b) PRORATION OF PRODUCTION COST OVER INCOME PERIOD. — Amounts referred to in subsection (a) are deductible only for those taxable years ending during the period during which the taxpayer reasonably may be expected to receive substantially all of the income he will receive from any such film, sound recording, book, or similar property. The amount deductible for any such taxable year is an amount which bears the same ratio to the sum of till such amounts (attributable to such film, sound recording, book, or similar property) as the income received from the property for that taxable year bears to the sum of the income the taxpayer may reasonably be expected to receive during such period.

On its face, the language of the statute is unambiguous. It provides that, in the case of an individual, amounts attributable to the production of a book are required to be capitalized and deducted over the life of the income stream generated from the production activity. Since petitioner is an individual who incurred expenditures attributable to the writing of a book, those production costs clearly fall within the ambit of section 280.

Petitioner argues that the legislative history behind section 280 supports his position that the statute was intended to apply to tax shelters and not to authors. This Court has stated previously that “where a statute is clear on its face, we would require unequivocal evidence of legislative purpose before construing the statute so as to override the plain meaning of the words used therein.” Huntsberry v. Commissioner, 83 T.C. 742, 747-748 (1984). Our examination of the legislative history of section 2805 reveals that Congress enacted this provision in an attempt to curb tax shelters,6 particularly in the motion picture industry. S. Rept. 94-938, 71-79 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 109-117.7 However, while congressional action was directed primarily at motion picture shelters, there is no evidence that the legislative purpose was aimed exclusively at tax shelter activity. S. Rept. 94-938, supra. Having failed to find an unequivocal legislative purpose, we refuse to interpret the statute in the manner petitioner suggests because to do so would be contrary to the clear language of section 280.

Having found that section 280 is applicable to authors, we must next determine whether petitioner is excluded from its coverage by the statute’s effective date provision.8 The effective date provision provides that—

[section 280] applies to amounts paid or incurred after December 31, 1975, with respect to property the principal production of which begins after December 31, 1975.

While the effective date provision does not elaborate on the term “principal production,” the Senate report provides—

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Garrison v. Commissioner
86 T.C. No. 48 (U.S. Tax Court, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
86 T.C. No. 48, 86 T.C. 764, 1986 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 116, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garrison-v-commissioner-tax-1986.