Koussevitsky v. Commissioner

5 T.C. 650, 1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 30, 1945
DocketDocket No. 4163
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 5 T.C. 650 (Koussevitsky 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
Koussevitsky v. Commissioner, 5 T.C. 650, 1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93 (tax 1945).

Opinion

OPINION.

Black, Judge:

The issues have been stated previously. We shall consider first whether any part of the $90,483.67 of item 2 is includible in the decedent’s gross estate.

In the deficiency notice the respondent determined that only $54,558.10 of item 2 should be included, and that this amount should be included under section 811 (e) of the Internal Revenue Code,2 for the reason that the survivor of the joint account, Koussevitsky, had only established that $35,925.57 of the $90,483.67 originally belonged to him and had never been received or acquired by him from the decedent for less than an adequate and full consideration in money or money’s worth. The parties have now stipulated that the entire $90,483.67 comes within the exception mentioned in section 811 (e); that is, the entire $90,483.67 originally belonged to Koussevitsky and had never been received or acquired by him from the decedent, and for that reason the respondent now concedes that no part of the $90,483.67 is includible in the decedent’s gross estate under section 811 (e). Cf. United States v. Jacobs, 306 U. S. 363.

In discussing joint tenancy in general as affected by the provisions of section 811 (e), the petitioner states in his brief:

* * * The only material inquiry is whether the decedent had an interest as joint tenant at the time of his death and if so where the property originated. If A owns property and gives it to B, and B conveys it to A and B as joint tenants, the gift from A to B is entirely immaterial so far as the estate tax is concerned, and all of the property would be included in A’s estate if he dies first and none of it will be included in B’s estate if he dies first. (See U. S. v. Jacobs, 306 U. S. 363, 371; Stuart v. Hassett, 41 F. Supp; 905, D. C., Mass )

The authorities cited by petitioner in the above quotation from his brief undoubtedly have held that under the circumstances detailed above the value of all the property owned and held in the joint tenancy should be included in A’s estate if he dies first. The cases cited did not hold, however, that if B died first none of the value of the property held in joint tenancy would be included in his estate. That question was not involved. However, as we have already stated, respondent now concedes in the instant case that, in view of the fact that the property held in the joint tenancy or the funds with which it was purchased originally belonged to Koussevitsky, the surviving joint tenant, none of it is to be included in Mrs. Koussevitsky’s estate under section 811 (e), notwithstanding the fact that she conveyed it all to the joint tenancy after having previously acquired it from her husband as gifts. In view of this concession by respondent, we find it unnecessary to go further in our analysis of the provisions of section 811 (e) in this particular respect.

The respondent, however, has amended his answer and has affirmatively alleged that the entire $90,483.67 is includible in the decedent’s gross estate under either section 811 (c) or 811 (d) (1) of the code, or both. The material provisions of these subsections are set forth in the margin.3

Petitioner contends that Congress, in providing under section 811 of the code what property should be included in a decedent’s gross estate has, under subsection (e), legislated specifically with respect to joint interests and has specifically excepted certain property from inclusion in the gross estate, and that, since the property in question comes within the exception, the respondent should not be permitted to include the property in the gross estate under some more general provision of the statute.

We do not think that the above contention is true in so far as the “contemplation of death” provision contained in subsection (c) is concerned. If the transfer on December 17, 1941, from the agency account to the joint account had been made in contemplation of death, then we think the property would be includible in the decedent’s gross estate, for, having been made in contemplation of death, it would be the same for tax purposes as if the decedent had never made the transfer and at the time of death still owned the property previously transferred. We think that under such a situation that part of subsection (c) dealing with transfers made in contemplation of death would be more specific than subsection (e) and would therefore take precedence over subsection (e), and the full value of the property transferred would be includible in decedent’s estate. But if the transfer on December 17, 1941, was not made in contemplation of death it would be effective for all purposes, including tax purposes, and the property must be considered as jointly owned at death and subsection (e) would be more specific than any other subsection of the statute, and to include the property in the gross estate under some more general provision would have the effect of completely nullifying the specific exception provided for in the more specific subsection of the statute. This is a question of statutory interpretation and it is the- “more specific indications of legislative intent” that we are seeking to determine. Cf. Helvering v. Safe Deposit & Trust Co. of Baltimore, 316 U. S. 56. Moreover, there is nothing to indicate, in our opinion, that Congress in subsection (d) (1), dealing with revocable transfers, intended it to >pply to property held as joint tenants or as tenants by the entirety. It certainly seems clear to us that subsection (e), dealing with joint interests, was the one which Congress intended should cover such property.

No instance has been brought to our attention, except the present proceeding, where the Commissioner has contended that, in determining what part of property held jointly with the right of survivorship is includible in the gross estate of a decedent, the applicable subsection of the statute is other than subsection (e) of code section 811 or its oounterparts in other revenue acts. In the respondent’s brief it is argued at length that it is possible in certain circumstances for the same property to be taxable under more than one subsection. That is assumed without discussion, but we think it is beside the point. The question here is not whether the provisions of certain subsections may sometimes overlap, but whether, where the statute segregates jointly held property from all other property and makes it the subject of separate and distinct provisions which include an express exception, that exception can be nullified by the imposition of a tax under one of the other provisions of the statute. We do not think the exception can be thus nullified. In Liebmann v. Hassett, 148 Fed. (2d) 247, where it was held that subsections (a), (c), and (g) of section 302 of the Revenue Act of 1926 should be applied in determining whether certain insurance was includible in the decedent’s gross estate, notwithstanding the fact that subsection (g) dealt specifically with insurance, there was no attempt to tax the first $40,000 of insurance .receivable by beneficiaries other than the executor, as that amount was considered specifically exempt from inclusion in the gross estate under subsection (g).

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Koussevitsky v. Commissioner
5 T.C. 650 (U.S. Tax Court, 1945)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
5 T.C. 650, 1945 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 93, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/koussevitsky-v-commissioner-tax-1945.