Jorden v. Commissioner

11 T.C. 914, 1948 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 30, 1948
DocketDocket Nos. 13704, 13735
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 11 T.C. 914 (Jorden 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
Jorden v. Commissioner, 11 T.C. 914, 1948 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23 (tax 1948).

Opinion

Arundell, Judge:

The proceeding under Docket No. 13704 involves a deficiency in the petitioner’s income tax for the calendar year 1941 in the amount of $73,574.03, and a deficiency in income and victory taxes for the calendar year 1943 in the amount of $84,834.86.

The proceeding under Docket No. 13735 involves deficiencies in income, declared value excess profits, and excess profits taxes determined against the petitioner as a fiduciary for the Bemidji Wood Products Co. for the taxable years ended December 31,1941 and 1942. The deficiencies in income tax determined for 1941 and 1942 are $10,490.07 and $3,111.38, respectively. Respondent has determined a deficiency in declared value excess profits tax for 1941 in the amount of $813.93 and a deficiency in excess profits tax for 1941 in the amount of $5,429.63.

The first issue is whether the value of a demand note and all of the issued capital stock of Bemidji Wood Products Co. which were received by petitioner in 1941, and cash and property in excess of that value distributed to him in 1942 upon the liquidation of the company, constituted ordinary income under section 22 (a) in those years, or whether the total value of the assets received by him in 1942 is taxable as a long term capital gain within the meaning of section 117 of the Internal Revenue Code, as being in payment for the stock held by petitioner in Bemidji, or whether such assets were paid to petitioner in liquidation of Bemidji’s indebtedness to him.

The second issue herein relates to the petitioner’s liability as a trustee in dissolution for Bemidji Wood Products Co. for deficiencies determined against that company in income, declared value excess profits, and excess profits taxes for the years ended December 31,1941 and 1942. Petitioner has conceded his liability as a fiduciary for any deficiencies as are found to exist. Bemidji’s liability for these deficiencies rests upon the question of whether it may properly include, in computing its net operating loss deductions for the years 1941 and 1942, its net operating losses for the years 1939 and 1940 where it appears that for two taxable periods in 1940 Bemidji reported its income on a consolidated return with two different parent companies. It also remains to be decided whether, in computing its net income for 1941, the interest accrued and not paid by Bemidji in that year is deductible in view of the provisions of section 24 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

FINDINGS OF FACT.

The petitioner, D. J. Jorden, is an individual, residing at the Lake-shore Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio. His income tax returns for the calendar years 1941 and 1942 were filed with the collector of internal revenue for the district of Minnesota and his income and victory tax return for the calendar year 1943 was filed with the collector for the tenth and eighteenth collection districts of Ohio.

The Bemidji Wood Products Co., hereinafter referred to as Bemidji, is a Minnesota corporation engaged in making boxes and other wood products. Its books were kept on the accrual basis and its tax returns filed for the calendar years 1941 and 1942 with the collector of internal revenue for the district of Minnesota.

■ The petitioner was retained by the Utilities Light & Power Corporation in October 1937 to manage the affairs of Bemidji. Shortly thereafter he became a director of Bemidji and was made its president. The Utilities Corporation, from November 1932 until some time in 1940, owned all of the outstanding stock of Bemidji except for the directors’ qualifying shares.

Bemidji consistently lost money and from time to time called upon the parent company for funds. In consideration of these advances, Bemidji on February 1, 1935, gave the Utilities Power & Light Corporation a demand promissory note for $621,000, which bore interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum. In 1940 this note came into the possession of the Ogden Corporation, along with all of the stock of Bemidji except the directors’ qualifying shares. As of September 30, 1940, there was due from Bemidji on the note $621,000 of principal, plus $158,090 in interest.

A contract was signed on October 15, 1940, by the Ogden Corporation, Bemidji, and the petitioner by which the Ogden Corporation agreed to sell to the petitioner and the petitioner agreed to purchase from Ogden all of the outstanding shares of the capital stock of Bemidji and the 6 per cent demand note in consideration of the payment to Ogden of the sum of $145,500. Payment for the stock and the note was agreed to be made in the following manner: $80,500 was to be paid on October 15, 1940, by Bemidji; $20,000 was to be paid by Bemidji within 120 days after that date, and $45,000 was to be paid by D. J. Jorden within a period of three years from October 15,1940. This $45,000 was to bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum, payable monthly. Delivery of the note and stock to the petitioner was to be made upon the completion of all payments.

The contract authorized Bemidji to enter into negotiations for a loan of approximately $85,000. From the proceeds of this loan and from assets on hand, Bemidji was to pay to the Ogden Corporation by October 15, 1940, a total of $80,500. The agreement with the lenders was to provide that the loans should be secured by such assets of Bemidji as the lenders and Bemidji might determine and that the Ogden Corporation was to be under no obligation or liability whatsoever to the lenders for the repayment of such a loan.

Bemidji mortgaged its inventory to secure loans from the banks and the money so obtained, together with other money in its possession, was paid to Ogden under this contract. The notes given by Bemidji were signed by both the company and the petitioner individually.

Bemidji from its own funds paid to the Ogden Corporation $145,500 and the note and stock of Bemidji were delivered to the petitioner on or about July 22,1941. No payments upon the principal indebtedness under the contract of purchase were made by the petitioner. The payments made by Bemidji to the Ogden Corporation were as follows:

Oct. 1940_$80, 500 July 1941_$11,000
Dec. 1940_ 5,000 July 1941_ 34,000
Dec. 1940_ 5,000 -
Jan. 1941_ 5,000 Total- 145,500
Feb. 1941_ 5,000

These payments were debited on Bemidji’s books to an account designated “floating debt,” which contained all entries relative to the principal due on that note. The balance of principal due was reduced by these payments from $621,000 to $475,500.

A letter dated December 16, 1942, from the petitioner to the firm of Ernst & Ernst, auditors for Bemidji, reads in part as follows:

As stated to you by telephone this afternoon, it would be well to get the opinion of an Attorney as to the legality of liquidation at this time. The suits pending in the wage and hour matter will be put on the January calendar. When they will be set for trial I do not know. We do not think there is any likelihood of the plaintiffs recovering anything in these suits, however, there is always the possibility of judgments against us.

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Jorden v. Commissioner
11 T.C. 914 (U.S. Tax Court, 1948)

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Bluebook (online)
11 T.C. 914, 1948 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jorden-v-commissioner-tax-1948.