Hall v. Commissioner

15 T.C. 195, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 101
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 31, 1950
DocketDocket No. 21027
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 15 T.C. 195 (Hall 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
Hall v. Commissioner, 15 T.C. 195, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 101 (tax 1950).

Opinion

OPINION.

Harron, Judge:

The issue in this proceeding is whether petitioner is taxable in 1942 on the value of shares of stock issued in his name in that year, or in 1943 and 1944 when the shares were delivered to him upon his performance of personal services pursuant to an execu-tory contract with the Company.

Petitioner contends that he became the owner of the 50 shares in question in 1942 when the contract was signed by the parties and the si)ares were issued in his name; that the consideration for their issuance was the signing by him of the employment contract of November 25,1942; and that the fair market value of the shares was income to him at that time.

Respondent contends that petitioner is taxable in 1943 and 1944 on the fair market value of the shares of stock received by him in those years and not in 1942 when the contract was entered into. He argues that the shares were only provisionally delivered to petitioner in 1942 and that petitioner did not become the unrestricted owner of any of the shares until 1943 and 1944, in each of which years 25 shares were delivered to him without restriction.

Petitioner reported his income during the years in question on the cash receipts and disbursements basis. Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code provides that “the amount of all items of gross income shall be included in the gross income for the taxable year in which received by the taxpayer.” A taxpayer on the cash basis normally reports income in the year in which the cash or property in lieu thereof is received, even though services for which the cash or property represents payment are rendered in either an earlier or a later year. Jackson v. Smietanka, 272 Fed. 970; S. P. Freeling, 7 B. T. A. 1238; Edwin B. DeGolia, 40 B. T. A. 845; cf. Brown v. Helvering, 291 U. S. 193; Astor Holding Corp. v. Commissioner, 135 Fed. (2d) 47; Your Health Club, Inc., 4 T. C. 385.

Although actual receipts remain the touchstone of the cash basis of reporting income, both decisions and regulations include constructive as well as actual receipts as income. E. g., Corliss v. Bowers, 281 U. S. 376; Ross v. Commissioner, 169 Fed. (2d) 483; Warren E. Burns, 11 B. T. A. 524, affd., 31 Fed. (2d) 399, certiorari denied, 280 U. S. 564. Regulations 111, section 29.42-3, wliich enunciates tlie doctrine of constructive receipt includes as taxable income all amounts owing to the taxpayer on the cash basis, whether actually received or not, which are unqualifiedly made subject to his demand in the taxable year.

Conversely, where cash or a chose in action, such as a stock certificate or a note, is not received free and clear but is subject to a restriction, the usual effect of the restraint is to postpone the inclusion of the item in taxable income until such time as the restriction is removed. E. g., International Mortgage & Investment Corp., 36 B. T. A. 187; Benjamin F. Patterson, 21 B. T. A. 8; Marion H. McArdle, 11 T. C. 961; Charles F. Mitchell, 45 B. T. A. 300; E. P. Madigan, 43 B. T. A. 549.

There is no evidence in this proceeding on such matters as who dictated the policies of the Company, what its capital structure was, what assets and liabilities comprised its balance sheet, whether any of the shares held by the treasurer were ever voted, whether dividends were ever declared by the Company, and, if so, whether dividends were ever paid by the Company upon the shares which were being held by the treasurer.

Upon our examination of the limited facts which have been made available to us, we must conclude that petitioner did not receive the 50 shares in question in 1942 free and clear from restrictions which would make them subject to his unfettered command. Instead, it is held that respondent was correct in his determination that it was not until 1943 and 1944 that the shares were subjected to petitioner’s control, and that the fair market value of the shares delivered in each of those years was includible in petitioner’s income for the year in which they were delivered.

The petitioner had no dominion or control over the shares until they were delivered to him by the treasurer of the Company in 1943 and 1944 upon the order of the board of directors. There is no evidence that the petitioner was entitled to vote the shares prior to that time or that he was entitled to share in any dividends which might be declared by the Company. The petitioner could not sell the shares which were being held by the treasurer until they were delivered to him, and the unfettered right of sale is one of the most important attributes of ownership.

The facts which are before us in this proceeding aré similar to those in other cases in which formal restrictive devices have resulted in tax postponement until the year in which the property was unrestrict-edly delivered into the possession of the taxpayer. Thus, in Phillip W. Haberman, 31 B. T. A. 75, affd., 79 Fed. (2d) 995, the taxpayer agreed with a corporation to remain in the employ of one of its subsidiaries for 3 years for a compensation consisting of a stated cash, salary and the right to purchase a stated number of shares of the parent’s stock. Stock certificates for fully issued and paid-up shares were issued to the taxpayer, immediately endorsed by him, and deposited with the parent to secure a loan for the full purchase price of the shares. Upon repayment of the loan in installments, in subsequent years, the taxpayer was entitled to receive the shares of stock. Upon these facts, it was held that the taxpayer, who was on the cash basis, received income in the years in which the stock was finally received by him rather than in the year in which the stock was issued.

In Lyle E. Olson, 24 B. T. A. 702, affd., 67 Fed. (2d) 726, certiorari denied, 292 U. S. 637, a corporate employer agreed to issue 200 shares of its stock to Olson in consideration of his continuous performance of services for the next 5 years. Each year from 1918 through 1922 a certificate for 40 shares was issued in Olson’s name and delivered to a trustee designated by him. In 1922 at the end of the 5 years, the shares of stock were delivered to Olson. It was held that, since Olson reported his income on the cash basis, the entire 200 shares were includible in his income in 1922 in the amount of their fair market value. Cf. Adolph Zuhor, 33 B. T. A. 324.

In Marion H. McArale, supra, the taxpayer sold stock and as part of his consideration received a cashier’s check which he endorsed and deposited with the buyer in order to guarantee the buyer against loss from accounts receivable and contingent liabilities of the corporation whose stock was being purchased. It was held that the profit represented by the portion of the sales price so deposited was not income to the cash basis seller in the year of sale, but only in the following year when received unconditionally. See, also, Preston R. Bassett, 33 B. T. A. 182, affd., 90 Fed. (2d) 1004.

And in Roscoe E. Aldrich, 3 B. T. A.

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Hall v. Commissioner
15 T.C. 195 (U.S. Tax Court, 1950)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
15 T.C. 195, 1950 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 101, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hall-v-commissioner-tax-1950.