Kaplan v. United States

154 F. Supp. 167, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 288, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 30, 1957
DocketCiv. A. No. 11193
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 154 F. Supp. 167 (Kaplan v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kaplan v. United States, 154 F. Supp. 167, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 288, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073 (W.D. Pa. 1957).

Opinion

GÓURLEY, Chief Judge.

This is an action for refund of income taxes in the amount of $70,000 for the year 1943, alleged to have been erroneously collected from plaintiffs’ decedent.

The following questions are raised:

1. Whether a taxpayer reporting on the cash basis, who borrows money from a third person to pay his creditor a deductible debt, must take his deduction in the year the creditor was paid or in later years when the third party is paid.

2. Whether the doctrine of collateral estoppel precludes a judgment for taxpayers on their second cause of action by reason of judgment by the Tax Court and its affirmation by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

3. Whether a taxpayer reporting on the cash' basis, who purchases stock on margin, pledging as collateral the purchased stock and stock of an associate, sustains a deductible loss in the year the collateral is sold and his indebtedness to the creditor is extinguished, or in later years when he partially reimburses the associate whose collateral was sold.

For purposes of brevity, the following abbreviations are employed:

—Bramer—Decedent S. Eugene Bramer
—Hornblower Hornblower & Weeks
—Frank William K. Frank
—Copperweld Copperweld Steel Co.
—National National Steel Corp.
—Foster Lee B. Foster
—-Rustless Rustless Iron Corporation
—Bank Bank of Pittsburgh
• — Weirton Weirton Steel Co.

. There are two substantive issues of tax law raised in this action, each being ■set up in the complaint as a separate . cause of action. For the sake of clarity, the, facts- necessary to a determination of each issue are presented separately.

The facts are undisputed and have been stipulated between counsel for the parties.

First Cause of Action

Prior to May 13, 1931, Bramer, now deceased and hereinafter referred to as Decedent, maintained a large margin account with the stock brokerage firm of Hornblower. This account was partially secured by 2,000 shares of Copperweld which Decedent had borrowed from Frank. Subsequently, Hornblower re[169]*169quired additional collateral, and accordingly Decedent borrowed from Frank 2.000 shares of the stock of National and posted them as collateral with Hornblower in place of the Copperweld stock.

On or about May 13,1931, Hornblower served notice that it intended to close out the Decedent’s account which, of course, meant selling the collateral, including the 2.000 shares of National which the decedent had borrowed from Frank. Rather than lose those shares, Frank paid to Hornblower $84,000, the then market value of the 2,000 shares, and reclaimed them. On the same day, the Decedent gave Frank a. note in the amount of $84,000. At the same time Hornblower sold out Decedent’s account at a heavy loss.

In 1942 and 1943 Decedent paid to Frank the respective amounts of $21,250 and $35,036.12 on account of the principal of his May 13, 1931 note. These amounts were deducted as losses on Decedent’s returns for the year in question. In .determining the income tax liability of Decedent for the year 1943, the amounts paid in 1942 and 1943 on the principal of said note must be considered and evaluated. The Commissioner disallowed the deductions, claiming that Decedent’s loss was sustained, and, therefore, deductible when the brokerage account was liquidated, to-wit 1931, rather than when the payments were made on the principal of Decedent’s note to Frank. The propriety of the Commissioner’s determination is challenged in the taxpayers’ first cause of action.

In summary, what occurred was that Decedent owed Hornblower a large sum' of money, which was partially collateralized by stock borrowed from Frank in the value of $84,000. When Hornblower gave notice that it intended to close out Decedent’s account, Frank, rather than lose the stock which he had loaned to Decedent, paid to Hornblower ,$84,000 and reclaimed his shares of stock. Hornblower applied the $84,000 in partial discharge of Decedent’s debt and closed out his account at a heavy, loss. On the same day, Decedent gave to Frank his note in the amount of $84,000. In reality, therefore, what took place was a borrowing of $84,000 from Frank by Decedent and use of the $84,000 in partial liquidation of a deductible debt. The question,, therefore, is whether Decedent was required to claim his deduction at the time-of the payment of the $84,000 to Hornblower or whether he may postpone claiming his deduction until he repays the loan from Frank.

Upon a most detailed review of the authorities, I am convinced that, if the taxpayer himself actually paid in cash his part of the loss at the time Hornblower applied the collateralized stock in partial discharge of his debt, it would hardly be contended that he could not, in that ye.ar, have charged the sum paid as a proper deduction from his income for that year. I cannot accept the thesis .that circumstances have changed merely because he was forced to borrow from another in order to make his payment. Crain v. Commissioner, 8 Cir., 75 F.2d 962; McAdams v. Commissioner, 15 T.C. 231, affirmed, 5 Cir., 198 F.2d 54.

Expenses paid with borrowed funds are deductible by a taxpayer on the cash basis in the year in which they are actually paid, and the deduction thereof cannot be deferred until a later year when repayment of the borrowed funds-is made by the taxpayer. Jarvis v. Heimer, 3 Cir., 39 F.2d 361; Jenkins v. Bitgood, 2 Cir., 101 F.2d 17; Humphrey v. Commissioner, 9 Cir., 91 F.2d 155.

I must conclude, therefore, that Decedent should have taken his deduction in the year when the creditor was paid rather than in the year when the loan' was repaid.

Second Cause of Action

On September 24, 1929, Decedent/ Foster and Frank entered into a syndicate agreement for the purchase of 60,-000 shares of Rustless. Foster and, Frank were to finance the syndicate by. negotiating a loan from the Bank. The cost of the shares amounted to $236,752.-; 50. The note to the Bank was signed by [170]*170the three participants. Payment of the loan was secured by the hypothecation of the 60,000 shares of Rustless owned by the syndicate and also by 236 and 250 shares of Weirton stock owned respectively by Frank and Foster. Weir-ton was subsequently reorganized as National.

The syndicate agreement provided in part as follows:

The Bramer, Foster, Frank Syndicate is composed of Messrs. S. E. Bramer, Lee B. Foster, and Wm. K. Frank. Each member is to receive one-third of the net profits from the sale of the International Rustless stock, or one-third of all such stock remaining at the termination of the syndicate after all debts have been paid and the above mentioned Weir-ton Steel, or any other borrowed securities, returned to its (sic) respective owners.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
154 F. Supp. 167, 52 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 288, 1957 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kaplan-v-united-states-pawd-1957.