Gerli & Co. v. Commissioner

73 T.C. 1019, 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 175
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 5, 1980
DocketDocket No. 4868-72
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 73 T.C. 1019 (Gerli & Co. 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
Gerli & Co. v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 1019, 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 175 (tax 1980).

Opinion

Sterrett, Judge:

By letter dated March 28, 1972, respondent determined a deficiency in income taxes due from petitioner Gerli & Co., Inc. (Gerli), and its subsidiaries, for their taxable year ended December 31, 1965, in the amount of $346,448.50. Gerli and its subsidiaries1 had filed as a consolidated group for that taxable year. Gerli is, therefore, for purposes of this case, the sole agent for the consolidated group and is authorized to act in its own name in all matters relating to the consolidated group’s tax liability for the taxable year before us. See sec. 1.1502-77(a), Income Tax Regs. The primary issue for our decision herein is whether petitioner is entitled to the benefits of a favorable ruling under section 367 with respect to the liquidation of a foreign subsidiary, which liquidation otherwise qualifies for treatment under section 332. Subsidiary issues before us deal with petitioner’s liability for a section 6653(a) addition to tax and the capital or currently deductible nature of certain legal expenses.2

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts were stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts and exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

Gerli is a Delaware corporation which at all times relevant hereto had its principal offices in New York, N.Y. The return herein was timely filed on the accrual basis with the District Director of the District of Manhattan, New York, N.Y.

Petitioner is merely the last of a series of corporate predecessors stretching back to 1922. Petitioner’s first predecessor was La France Art Co., incorporated in 1922. La France Art Co. became La France Textile Industries in 1924. In 1929, La France Textile Industries changed its name to La France Industries, Inc. (hereinafter referred to from time to time as LFI-US). In 1959, La France Industries, Inc., changed its name to LFI Corp. In 1960, LFI Corp. changed its name to Gerli & Co., Inc.

La France Plushes, Inc. (Plushes), was incorporated as a foreign subsidiary of La France Textile Industries in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1927. LFI-US or its corporate predecessor owned over 99 percent of the authorized and outstanding shares of Plushes throughout Plushes’ existence. On January 31,1933, La France Textiles Ltd. (LFT) was incorporated as a Dominion corporation in Canada. LFT was capitalized with but one class of common voting stock.

In 1933, a plan of reorganization was adopted for the purpose of transferring Plushes’ assets and liabilities to LFT. On June 10, 1933, the shareholders of Plushes exchanged 2,943 shares of common stock and 27 shares of preferred stock in Plushes for 2,970 shares of common stock in LFT. Thereafter, and at all times relevant hereto, LFI-US or its corporate successors owned over 99 percent of the authorized, issued and outstanding shares of LFT. On September 23, 1933, LFT acquired, for $1, all of the assets and liabilities of Plushes. Plushes surrendered its corporate charter in 1934.

Neither petitioner nor any of its corporate predecessors requested, nor did they receive, a ruling from the Commissioner pursuant to the predecessor of section 367, I.R.C. 1954, with respect to any of the transactions involved in the reorganization of Plushes.

LFT engaged in the textile business in Canada as a wholly owned subsidiary of LFI-US until 1959. On August 31, 1959, after incurring substantial losses for several taxable years, LFT sold its plants, equipment, and inventories and curtailed its business activities. After several more years of unsuccessfully searching for an appropriate business into which LFT could be launched, Gerli concluded that LFT should be liquidated.

On October 26,1964, Gerli filed with the rulings section of the reorganization branch of respondent’s national office a request for a section 367 ruling that, in the event LFT were liquidated, LFT would be recognized as a corporation for purposes of section 367 and section 332 and that, therefore, no gain or loss would result to Gerli from the liquidation. This ruling request revealed that as of August 31,1964, after LFT had succeeded in discounting the notes receivable it obtained from the sale of its operating assets, LFT had the following assets and liabilities:

Current assets. $1,756,684.27
Current liabilities. 52,068.35
Capital stock (4,007 shares of $100 par value). 400,700.00
Surplus. 1,355,590.62
Liabilities and capital. 31,756,684.27

After having filed this ruling request, petitioner, through its counsel, engaged in discussions with representatives of the Commissioner with respect to the Commissioner’s requirements for issuing a favorable section 367 ruling concerning the complete liquidation of LFT. During these discussions, respondent informed petitioner several times that a favorable section 367 ruling would not be issued unless petitioner agreed to include LFT’s current and accumulated earnings and profits in income as a dividend during the year of liquidation.

On December 2, 1964, as a result of these communications from respondent, petitioner filed a document entitled “Addendum to Request for Section 367 Ruling by Gerli & Co., Inc., 2 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y.” This addendum was in the form of a letter from Francis M. Gerli, president of Gerli, to petitioner’s attorneys. This letter provided in relevant part as follows:

Under date of October 26, 1964, you filed, on our behalf, a request for a section 367 ruling predicated upon the liquidation by our corporation of our wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, LFT, Ltd. This request for ruling was verified by the undersigned as President of Gerli & Co., Inc.
We understand that this letter will be attached by you and incorporated by reference in an addendum to the original request for ruling, which you will file in the near future. We further understand that the commitment made in this letter, which is recited hereinafter, will constitute an agreement between our company and the Commissioner.
Fully bearing the foregoing understanding in mind, Gerli & Co., Inc., agrees that in the event it proceeds with the liquidation of LFT, Ltd., pursuant to a ruling by the Commissioner issued on the basis of the solicitation of October 26, 1964, current and accumulated earnings of LFT, Ltd., at the time of liquidation will be treated by Gerli & Co., Inc., as dividend income in the year of LFT, Ltd., liquidation, subject to applicable foreign tax credits.

A copy of this “addendum” was transmitted by petitioner’s attorneys to respondent, along with certain other documents requested by respondent with respect to the ruling, under cover of letter dated December 2, 1964. In this letter, the addendum was described as:

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Gerli & Co. v. Commissioner
73 T.C. 1019 (U.S. Tax Court, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
73 T.C. 1019, 1980 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 175, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gerli-co-v-commissioner-tax-1980.