KTA-Tator, Inc. v. Commissioner

108 T.C. No. 8, 108 T.C. 100, 1997 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 66
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMarch 11, 1997
DocketDocket No. 21013-95
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 108 T.C. No. 8 (KTA-Tator, Inc. 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
KTA-Tator, Inc. v. Commissioner, 108 T.C. No. 8, 108 T.C. 100, 1997 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 66 (tax 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

Foley, Judge:

By notice dated September 27, 1995, respondent determined deficiencies in petitioner’s Federal income taxes as follows:

Year Deficiency
1992 . $10,443
1993 . 1,828

Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the years in issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. The issue for decision is whether petitioner, pursuant to section 7872, has interest income from loans it made to its shareholders. We hold that it does.

Background

The facts have been fully stipulated under Rule 122 and are so found. At the time the petition was filed, petitioner’s principal place of business was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

During the years in issue, petitioner provided various services within the coatings industry, including consulting, engineering, inspection, and lab analysis. Kenneth B. Tator is the president of petitioner, and he and his wife (the Tators) are its sole shareholders.

In 1991, the Tators began two construction projects. The first project involved the expansion of petitioner’s Pittsburgh headquarters, which the Tators owned and leased to petitioner. The second project involved the construction of a new office building in Houston, Texas, which the Tators would own and lease to petitioner. Petitioner was authorized by its board of directors to loan funds to the Tators for construction, the purchase of land, and other business purposes. During the construction phase of the two projects, petitioner made over 100 advances of funds to the Tators. Each advance was executed by issuing a separate corporate check, and the Tators used the advances to pay contractors and meet other expenses. The advances were not subject to written repayment terms. On the corporate balance sheets, petitioner reported the advances as loans to shareholders. Monthly and year-to-date totals were recorded in two accounts entitled “Mortgage Receivable-Pittsburgh” and “Mortgage Receivable-Houston”.

The Houston project was completed in October of 1992, and the Pittsburgh project was completed in October of 1993. Upon the completion of each project, the Tators prepared an amortization schedule and began repaying the advances. The amortization schedule for each project delineated monthly payments over 20 years at an interest rate of 8 percent. The amortization schedule for the Houston project had a beginning principal balance of $400,218, while the amortization schedule for the Pittsburgh project had a beginning principal balance of $225,777.60.

On its 1992 and 1993 Federal income tax returns, petitioner did not report interest income from the advances. On September 27, 1995, respondent issued a notice of deficiency to petitioner. Respondent determined that petitioner, pursuant to section 7872, had unreported interest income of $30,718 for 1992 and $5,225 for 1993. Based on these amounts, respondent determined that petitioner was liable for deficiencies of $10,443 for 1992 and $1,828 for 1993.

Discussion

Section 7872 was enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (defra), Pub. L. 98-369, sec. 172(a), 98 Stat. 699. Section 7872 sets forth the income and gift tax treatment for certain categories of “below-market” loans (i.e., loans subject to a below-market interest rate). Section 7872 recharacterizes a below-market loan as an arm’s-length transaction in which the lender made a loan to the borrower in exchange for a note requiring the payment of interest at a statutory rate. As a result, the parties are treated as if the lender made a transfer of funds to the borrower, and the borrower used these funds to pay interest to the lender. The transfer to the borrower is treated as a gift, dividend, contribution of capital, payment of compensation, or other payment depending on the substance of the transaction. The interest payment is included in the lender’s income and generally may be deducted by the borrower. See H. Conf. Rept. 98-861, at 1015 (1984), 1984-3 C.B. (Vol. 2) 1, 269; Staff of Joint Comm, on Taxation, General Explanation of the Revenue Provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, at 528-529 (J. Comm. Print 1984).

Section 7872 applies to a transaction that is: (1) A loan; (2) subject to a below-market interest rate; and (3) described in one of several enumerated categories. Sec. 7872(c)(1), (e)(1), (f)(8). The- parties agree that the third requirement has been met. We discuss the remaining requirements in turn.

I. Loan Requirement

Respondent contends that each advance petitioner made to the Tators should be treated as a separate loan. Petitioner contends that the corporation was authorized to fund both projects with a single loan and that the advances were analogous to “draw-downs” on an open line of credit. Petitioner further contends that, for purposes of section 7872, a loan did not exist until petitioner advanced all the funds necessary to complete the Pittsburgh and Houston projects. Petitioner relies on section 1.7872-2(a)(l), Proposed Income Tax Regs., 50 Fed. Reg. 33557 (Aug. 20, 1985), which states: “An integrated series of transactions which is the equivalent of a loan is treated as a loan.”

While proposed regulations do constitute “ ‘a body of informed judgment * * * which courts may draw on for guidance’”, Frazee v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 554, 582 (1992) (quoting Bolton v. Commissioner, 694 F.2d 556, 560 n.10 (9th Cir. 1982), affg. 77 T.C. 104 (1981)), we accord them no more weight than a litigation position, F.W. Woolworth Co. v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 1233, 1265-1266 (1970). Even if we were inclined to seek guidance from the proposed regulations, petitioner’s reliance on section 1.7872-2(a)(l), Proposed Income Tax Regs., supra, is misplaced. That section is an antiabuse provision intended to address a series of transactions where each individual transaction may not be a loan, but collectively the series of transactions has the same effect as a loan. Contrary to petitioner’s contention, section 1.7872-2(a)(3), Proposed Income Tax Regs., 50 Fed. Reg. 33557 (Aug. 20, 1985), rather than section 1.7872-2(a)(l), Proposed Income Tax Regs., supra, is the relevant section of the proposed regulations. Section 1.7872-2(a)(3), Proposed Income Tax Regs., supra, provides that “each extension or [sic] credit or transfer of money by a lender to a borrower is treated as a separate loan.” Thus, the proposed regulations upon which petitioner relies provide that each advance should be treated as a separate loan. Indeed, petitioner reported, on its corporate balance sheets, each advance as a separate loan.

For authoritative guidance on whether a series of advances may be treated as individual loans, we turn to the legislative history of section 7872. The House conference report to DEFRA states that “any transfer of money that provides the transferor with a right to repayment may be a loan. For example, advances or deposits of all kinds may be treated as loans.” H. Conf. Rept. 98-861, supra at 1018, 1984-3 C.B. (Vol. 2) at 272 (emphasis added).

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KTA-Tator, Inc. v. Commissioner
108 T.C. No. 8 (U.S. Tax Court, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
108 T.C. No. 8, 108 T.C. 100, 1997 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 66, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kta-tator-inc-v-commissioner-tax-1997.