Goldwasser v. Commissioner

47 B.T.A. 445, 1942 BTA LEXIS 686
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedAugust 5, 1942
DocketDocket No. 103309.
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 47 B.T.A. 445 (Goldwasser v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goldwasser v. Commissioner, 47 B.T.A. 445, 1942 BTA LEXIS 686 (bta 1942).

Opinion

[450]*450OPINION.

Mellott:

The contract of September 18, 1936, embodied a “plan of reorganization” under the terms of which C. I. T. acquired all the stock of B. E. in exchange for 30,700 shares of its common stock. The plan was carried out and petitioner received common stock of C. I. T. in exchange for her common stock in B. E.

In her income tax return for 1936 petitioner treated the C. I. T. stock as received in a tax-free exchange under section 112 (b) (3) of [451]*451the Revenue Act of 1936.2 Respondent determined that C. I. T. was not a “party to a reorganization.” He therefore treated the exchange as a transaction giving rise to gain or loss and the stock received by petitioner as “other property” within the meaning of the statute.3

Petitioner contends that there was in fact a reorganization within the meaning of section 112 (g) (1) (B) of the Revenue Act of 1936 4 in pursuance of the plan of reorganization included in the contract •of September 18, 1936; that this reorganization was complete within itself and duly carried out according to its terms; that C. I. T. was a party to it; and that the exchange of stock for stock is within section 112 (b) (3), and hence no gain or loss is to be recognized.

Respondent contends that the plan of reorganization embodied in the contract of September 18, 1936, was not, in fact, the whole plan of reorganization; that the entire plan of reorganization included not only the exchange of all the stock of B. E. for common stock of C. I. T., but the transfer of the assets of B. E. to Emmerich for the common stock of Emmerich and the dissolution of B. E. within the year 1936; that this plan was carried out and C. I. T. surrendered for cancellation all the B. E. stock which it had received in exchange for 30,700 shares of its common stock and received, upon the dissolution of B. E. the Emmerich stock which B. E. had received in exchange for its assets; that under these facts C. I. T. was not “a party to a reorganization”; and that the transaction under which petitioner acquired the common stock of C. I. T. was not a tax-free exchange. [452]*452Both parties cite and discuss upon brief Groman v. Commissioner, 302 U. S. 82; Helvering v. Bashford, 302 U. S. 454; Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Helvering, 115 Fed. (2d) 662, affirming 40 B. T. A. 1100; certiorari denied, 312 U. S. 679; and Gertrude B. Chase, 44 B. T. A. 39; affirmed per curiam June 19, 1942.

The facts and the basic principles of the Groman and Bashford cases need be examined only briefly. In each there was a transfer of stock or assets by one or more corporations to a subsidiary of another corporation in exchange for stock of the subsidiary, stock of its parent, and cash. It was held that the stock of the parent was “other property” because the parent was not “a party to a reorganization.” The Court emphasized that the required continuity of interest was lacking and that the parent corporation in each instance was but a mere instrumentality through which a corporate reorganization was effectuated. These cases and others were discussed by the court and the Board in the Anheuser-Busch case, supra, and conclusion was reached that, since the sole object and accomplishment of the plan there under consideration required the transfer of the assets and business of a subsidiary of the taxpayer to a subsidiary of the other party, the other party was not “a party to a reorganization” and hence the realized gain must be recognized.

The plan which was before the court and the Board in the Anheuser-Busch case was in writing and contemplated that a subsidiary of Borden, the other corporation, would be organized to take over the assets of the taxpayer’s subsidiary and the taxpayer was required to co-operate in carrying out this plan. The contract, said the court, “negatived any purpose to retain that continued interest required in a merger.” The precise question now before us was not directly in issue. It was suggested in the Board’s opinion, however, (l.c. 1107) that if the transfer to the subsidiary had occurred after “a significant interval”, the question “might then arise as an issue of fact whether the subsequent transfer was part of the effectuation of the plan of reorganization or independent of it.” Subsequently, in Gertrude B. Chase, supra, we were called upon to determine substantially the same question as that suggest'd above, although the situation was “reversed as to the order of the transfers.” The transfer had been made to a subsidiary in the first instance; but looking at the whole plan we decided that it'“contemplated a merger of the two enterprises rather than the conduct of the acquired business by the vanishing subsidiary, and that it envisaged a continuity of interest in the merged enterprise on the part of those in receipt of its securities.” The Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed per curiam on the authority of the Groman and Bashford cases.

[453]*453The cited cases indicate and counsel seem to agree that our question is largely one of fact. If, as petitioner contends, the “plan” was limited to the acquisition of the C. I. T. stock by B. E.’s stockholders and the acquisition of B. E. stock by C. I. T., then petitioner must prevail. But if the plan contemplated the liquidation of B. E., following a temporary holding of the B. E. stock by C. I. T., then respondent’s determination must be upheld.

The evidence indicates and we think it must be found that prior to- the execution of the agreement of September 18, 1936, it was contemplated that C. I. T., as the sole stockholder of B. E., would cause B. E. to transfer all of its assets, subject to its liabilities, to Emmerich, a subsidiary of its wholly owned subsidiary, Factors, and would then dissolve B. E. This plan is evidenced by several circumstances, among others the “guarantee” letter written by C. I. T. and confirmed by Louis Bachmann, which refers to the agreement of September 18,1936, as “our proposed agreement with the stockholders of B. E. which we will execute in consideration of your executing this agreement, to be dated September 18, 1936.” This letter states: “Subsequent to our acquisition of the stock of B. E. under The Agreement * * * We will cause B. E. to transfer in 1936 its assets (excluding dividends described above), subject to its liabilities, to Emmerich, the latter being a subsidiary of Factors, one of oúr subsidiaries, and to issue stock of Emmerich in exchange for the net assets. We may, if we so desire, dissolve B. E. prior to December 31, 1936.” The resolutions of the board of directors of C. I. T., adopted October 22, 1936, at the first meeting of the board following the acquisition of the B. E. stock providing for the immediate liquidation of B. E., support the view that this was an integral part of the whole plan. Finally, the steps which were taken indicate quite clearly a plan existed from the beginning under which they were to be taken. These steps were: first, the exchange of all the stock of B. E. for 30,700 shares of C. I. T.; second, the transfer of the assets of B. E. to Emmerich in exchange for its common stock; third, the surrender for cancellation of all the shares of B. E. by its sole stockholder, C. I.

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Goldwasser v. Commissioner
47 B.T.A. 445 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1942)

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Bluebook (online)
47 B.T.A. 445, 1942 BTA LEXIS 686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goldwasser-v-commissioner-bta-1942.