Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc. v. Commissioner

1970 T.C. Memo. 73, 29 T.C.M. 311, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 287
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 26, 1970
DocketDocket Nos. 5550-67, 5551-67.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1970 T.C. Memo. 73 (Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc. 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
Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc. v. Commissioner, 1970 T.C. Memo. 73, 29 T.C.M. 311, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 287 (tax 1970).

Opinion

Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc., a corporation v. Commissioner. Paul M. Gilles and Faythe S. Gilles v. Commissioner.
Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc. v. Commissioner
Docket Nos. 5550-67, 5551-67.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1970-73; 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 287; 29 T.C.M. (CCH) 311; T.C.M. (RIA) 70073;
March 26, 1970, filed
Martin J. Torphy and E. Campion Kersten, 231 Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, Wis., for petitioners. Robert M. Burns, for respondent.

ATKINS

Memorandum Findings of Fact and Opinion

ATKINS, Judge: The respondent determined deficiencies in income tax against Gilles Frozen Custard, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as*288 petitioner) for the taxable years 1963, 1964, and 1965 in the respective amounts of $5,919.44, $5,707.80, and $8,424.36; and against Paul M. Gilles and Faythe S. Gilles for the taxable years 1963, 1964, and 1965 in the respective amounts of $264.11, $313.84, and $395.56. The respondent having conceded certain issues, those remaining for decision are: (1) whether petitioner may deduct as reasonable compensation amounts paid to Paul M. Gilles and Celia Gilles in 1963, 1964, and 1965; (2) whether an expenditure of $824.87 made by petitioner in 1963 constituted a deductible expense for repairs or a capital expenditure; and (3) whether amounts paid by petitioner to Paul Gilles in 1963, 1964, and 1965 as reimburseennt of expenses with respect to his automobile constituted deductible business expenses of petitioner or whether such amounts represented payment by petitioner of personal expenses of Paul Gilles and taxable income to him.

Findings of Fact

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are incorporated herein by this reference.

The petitioner is a Wisconsin corporation and at the time it filed its petition herein its place of business was located at 7515 West Bluemound Road, *289 Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It employed an accrual method of accounting. It filed its Federal income tax returns for the years 1963, 1964, and 1965 with the district director of internal revenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Petitioners, Paul M. and Faythe S. Gilles, are husband and wife and resided in Brookfield, Wisconsin, at the time they filed their petition herein. They filed joint returns for the taxable years 1963, 1964, and 1965 with the district director of internal revenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Faythe Gilles is a party to this proceeding only as a result of having filed joint returns with her husband during the years in question.

The petitioner was organized on March 8, 1938, by Paul Gilles who has continuously served as its president. The original capitalization consisted of 520 shares of common stock of a par value of $10 per share. Paul Gilles owned 280 shares and his mother, Celia Gilles, owned 40 shares. The remaining shares were owned by 6 other individuals unrelated to the Gilleses. Thereafter Celia Gilles was issued 2 additional shares and Paul Gilles's wife, Faythe Gilles, was issued 1 share. In March 1963, Paul Gilles purchased 60 shares owned by C. Tonkin. The petitioner's*290 outstanding stock was held as follows during the greater part of 1963 and throughout the years 1964 and 1965: 312

Paul M. Gilles340 shares
Celia Gilles42 shares
Faythe Gilles1 share
Paschale Shaffer40 shares
Lester VanLuyk50 shares
Lorayne Reiff45 shares
Alice Haase 5 shares
Total523 shares

Shaffer, VanLuyk, Reiff, and Haase are not related to the Gilleses.

Since its organization petitioner has operated an independent drive-in frozen custard business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Throughout the years the business has been conducted at the same location. While the location was once in a relatively unpopulated area, during the years in question it was a part of a heavily populated neighborhood because of the city's growth. It was within 1 block of one high school, 6 blocks of another, and 12 blocks of still another.

During the years in question petitioner operated both a retail and a wholesale business in frozen custard. Its drive-in was open for retail business from March 1 until Thanksgiving time. During the retail season the drive-in was open 7 days a week, from 10:30 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 10:00 a.m. until*291 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Throughout the retail season petitioner sold a large variety of frozen custard products, 14 different sandwich items, and various beverages, the customers being served at the windows of the custard stand. Petitioner's principal product was a superior ice cream product which, pursuant to Wisconsin statute, was designated "frozen custard." In producing such custard petitioner used a purchased mix and utilized a machine which yielded 12 gallons of finished product for each 10 gallons of mix. Very few sellers of ice cream or frozen custard in the Milwaukee area utilized a mix, or produced a product, as high in quality as did the petitioner.

During the retail season the drive-in was a popular meeting place for young people not only from the schools in the immediate area but also for those from schools throughout the city of Milwaukee, and 65 percent to 75 percent of petitioner's customers were teenaged. Because of the youthful make-up of its patronage, petitioner encountered substantial problems because of large crowds, traffic, noise, litter, and disturbances.

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1970 T.C. Memo. 73, 29 T.C.M. 311, 1970 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilles-frozen-custard-inc-v-commissioner-tax-1970.