International Paper Co. v. United States

88 F. Supp. 891, 116 Ct. Cl. 270, 39 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 98, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 9
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedMarch 6, 1950
DocketNo. 46961
StatusPublished

This text of 88 F. Supp. 891 (International Paper Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
International Paper Co. v. United States, 88 F. Supp. 891, 116 Ct. Cl. 270, 39 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 98, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 9 (cc 1950).

Opinion

Howell, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court:

This case involves claims for refunds of undistributed profits taxes paid, under Section 14 of the Revenue Act of 1936, Ch. 690, 49 Stat. 1655, by plaintiff’s predecessor, Bag-pak, Inc., for the years 1936, in the sum of $237.50, and 1937, in the sum of $1,672.30.

Plaintiff bases its right to the refunds upon Section 26 (c) (3) of the Revenue Act of 1936, 49 Stat. 1664, as amended by Ch. 619, Title Y, Section 501 (a) (2) and 501 (c) of the Revenue Act' of 1942, 56 Stat. 798, 954, 26 U. S. C. A. 344, on the ground that Bagpak, Inc., had deficits in accumulated earnings and profits on December 31,1935, and December 31, 1936, and, although that company was a Delaware corporation, it was prohibited by the laws of the State of New York, Ch. 60, Stock Corporation Law, Article 6, from paying dividends during the existence of a deficit in accumulated earnings and profits.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in disallowing the claims for refunds, based his denial upon the fact that the Delaware Corporation law, Ch. 65, Revised Code of Delaware 1935, Article I, Section 34, specifically provides that a dividend may be paid from the net profits of the current year or of the preceding year even if the net assets do not exceed the capital of the corporation and that accordingly the payment of dividends in this case was not prohibited by law.

Plaintiff is a New York corporation with offices in New York City. Bagpak, Inc., was a Delaware corporation authorized during 1936 and 1937 to do business in the States of New York, Arkansas, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. During the years in question, Bagpak, Inc., was a wholly owned subsidiary of plaintiff’s predecessor, International Paper and Power Company, a Massachusetts Trust. All of the property and assets of International Paper and [276]*276Power Company, including all of the capital stock of Bag-pak, Inc., were transferred to plaintiff on September 29,1941. On November 27, 1947, Bagpak, Inc., was dissolved under the laws of Delaware and on that date plaintiff, as sole stockholder, by operation of law, received a dividend distribution in liquidation consisting of a conveyance of all of the property and assets of Bagpak, Inc.

. During the years in question, Bagpak, Inc., was engaged in the manufacture and sale of paper bags and in the business of selling and leasing packaging machines. It maintained an office and place of business in New York City, a manufacturing plant at Camden, Arkansas, and a statutory office in charge of a resident agent in Dover, Delaware.

All Bagpak, Inc., directors’ and stockholders’ meetings were, as provided by its bylaws, held at its New York office. Also kept in New York were the general ledger, journal, the purchase journal, two cash books and customers’ accounts receivable records. The taxpayer Bagpak’s principal bank accounts were kept in New York. All agreements with its exclusive sales agent were executed, all orders by the agent were accepted, and all directions to its Arkansas plant also emanated from Bagpak’s New York office. During the same time, the company maintained an office at its plant in Arkansas, at which place were kept the inventory records as to operating materials and supplies and finished products, factory pay roll records, and records showing the cost of operations.

In 1936,1937, and 1938, Bagpak, Inc., filed New York State franchise tax returns for the privilege of doing business, which returns were for the privilege period from November 1st of the year the returns were filed to the succeeding October 31st. In filing these returns, Bagpak, Inc., joined in the consolidated returns of its parent company and approximately 156 companies of an affiliated group. These consolidated returns were based upon business actually performed in the previous year. For internal accounting purposes of the affiliated group, the parent company allocated to Bagpak, Inc., upon the percentage of its assets located within the State of New York to the total assets of all located therein, and [277]*277not upon the income earned by each of the companies. On that basis, the parent company allocated to Bagpak, Inc., $96.37 for the year ended October 31, 1937, $107.02 for the year ended October 31, 1938, and $169.75 for the year ended October 31, 1939. In the years in question, Bagpak, Inc., also paid minimum franchise taxes in Delaware and New Jersey and income taxes, franchise taxes, unemployment, insurance taxes and personal property taxes as a single entity to the State of Arkansas.

In 1936 and 1937, Bagpak, Inc., filed corporation and excess profits tax returns showing tax liability for the year 1936 of $589.43 (including undistributed profits tax liability of $237.50) and tax liability for 1937 of $18,894.25 (including undistributed profits tax liability of $1,672.30), which liability was paid in installments in 1937 and 1938, respectively. In 1943, within one year from enactment of Section 501 of the Revenue Act of 1942, Bagpak, Inc., filed with the Collector of Internal Revenue, claims for refunds of the undistributed profits taxes above specified for 1936 and 1937. Both of these claims were disallowed by statutory notice dated February 8, 1946.

On December 31, 1935, and December 31, 1936, Bagpak, Inc., had deficits in accumulated earnings and profits in the respective sums of $421,433.01 and $417,676.47, which were greatly in excess of the company’s net income for the respective taxable years. Net income for 1936 was $3,744.87 and for 1937 was $122,546.31.

It is pertinent at this point to refer to the statutes. Section 14 of the Revenue Act of 1936, Ch. 690, 49 Stat. 1655, imposed a surtax on corporate net income earned during a tax year but not distributed as dividends. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue took the position, which was sustained by the courts, that a corporate taxpayer was subject to the undistributed profits surtax even though the state of incorporation prohibited the payment of dividends because of accumulated deficits larger than the year’s earnings. Helvering v. Northwest Steel Mills, 311 U. S. 46, and Crane-Johnson v. Helvering, 311 U. S. 54; The result, of this was that some corporations were caught in a “trap” whereby they [278]*278were taxed by the Federal Government if they did not pay dividends and subject to prosecution and penalties by the Federal Government or the states if they did.

To relieve this hardship, Congress enacted Section 501 (a) (2) of the Revenue Act of 1942, 56 Stat. 798, 954, which was made retroactive to the year 1986, and allowing a “trapped” corporation a credit to the amount of its deficit. The statute reads, in part:

Sec. 26. Credits of Corporations.
In the case of a corporation the following credits shall be allowed to the extent provided in the various sections imposing tax—
$ ‡ ‡
(3) Deficit corporations.

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88 F. Supp. 891, 116 Ct. Cl. 270, 39 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 98, 1950 U.S. Ct. Cl. LEXIS 9, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/international-paper-co-v-united-states-cc-1950.