La Brum v. Commissioner

34 B.T.A. 258, 1936 BTA LEXIS 719
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedApril 7, 1936
DocketDocket No. 67217.
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 34 B.T.A. 258 (La Brum v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Board of Tax Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
La Brum v. Commissioner, 34 B.T.A. 258, 1936 BTA LEXIS 719 (bta 1936).

Opinion

OPINION.

Murdock:

The Commissioner determined the following deficiencies in the income tax of Thomas J. Foley, who is now deceased:

1927_ $706. 93
1928_ 9,202. 05
1929_ 13,555.50

The parties have entered into a stipulation which disposes of all of the issues raised in regard to the tax liability for the year 192T and disposes also of a number of items affecting the tax liability for 1928 and 1929. The following assignments of error are left for decision by the Board:

1. The Commissioner has erroneously determined the cost of 650 shares United Gas Improvement Company common (old) sold for $95,487, in October and December 1928, as $63,747.50, whereas the correct cost basis is $84,243.75.
2. The Commissioner has erroneously included as income of the deceased taxpayer the following items in connection with deceased taxpayer’s margin account with F. B. Keech & Co., for the calendar year 1929:
Interest on credit balances_ $102. 99
Dividends- 10,335.00
Profit on 1797 U. G. I. old_ 110, 538. 02
Total- 120, 976. 01 [259]*259for the reason that the alleged profits were not available to the deceased taxpayer in 1929 by reason of the taxpayer’s account being held as collateral security for undermargined, guaranteed accounts deficient in the amount of $192,529.90.
3. The Commissioner has erroneously disallowed a deduction in the amount of $192,529.90 from income for the calendar year 1929, being loss by way of embezzlement or fraudulently obtained pledge of deceased taxpayer’s securities to secure the account of Edward Foley with F. B. Keech & Co.
4. The Commissioner has failed to allow a deduction in the amount of $14,512.50 for the year 1929 covering embezzlement of the proceeds of 100 shares of United Gas and Improvement Company stock from decedent in 1929, which shares had a cost basis to decedent of $14,512.50.

The facts have been stipulated.

The following statement of the stipulated facts relating to the first issue will be sufficient for a decision of that issue. The decedent made the following purchases and sales of United Gas & Improvement Co. stock through Ware & Co.:

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Seven hundred shares of United Gas & Improvement Co. stock, representing the net balance in the above account, were delivered by-Ware & Co., either directly to the decedent and, thereupon, by him to Hano, Wasserman & Co., or directly by Ware & Co. to Hano, Wasserman & Co. upon the decedent’s order. The decedent at that time opened a new margin account with the latter firm and became indebted to the firm in the amount of $83,525.98. His indebtedness to Ware & Co. in this same amount was liquidated at that time. The decedent’s account with Hano, Wasserman & Co. thereafter shows the following transactions in United Gas & Improvement Co. stock:

[260]*260The amount realized from the sale of 650 shares in 1928 was $95,487. Those shares “are incapable of identification.” “The 1,000 shares [delivered to the decedent on September 24, 1928] can not be identified.” The Commissioner determined that the cost of the 650 shares sold in 1928 was $63,747.50, which represented the cost of 300 shares purchased on December 20, 1926, 200 shares purchased on June 28, 1927, and 150 shares purchased on August 9, 1927.

Tire question for decision is the amount of gain which the decedent realized from the sales in 1928 of 650 shares of United Gas & Improvement Co. stock. The parties are in agreement as to the amount realized from those sales. They disagree as to the basis for computing the gain on the sales. They agree that the “first in, first out” rule must be applied in order to determine the cost basis of the 650 shares sold. It is apparent that the “first in, first out” rule must be applied since the parties have stipulated that the 650 shares sold are incapable of identification and since the decedent made no designation to his broker which might in any way serve to identify the shares sold with any particular lot or lots purchased. The so-called “first in, first out” rule is stated as follows in article 58 of [Regulations 74:

Art. 58. Sale of stock and rights. — When shares of stock in a corporation are sold from different lots purchased at different dates and at different prices and the identity of the lots can not he determined, the stock sold shall be charged against the earliest purchases of such stock.

The 650 shares in question were sold from different lots purchased at different times and at different prices, and the identity of the lots can not be determined. Therefore the stock sold must be charged against the earliest purchases of such stock. The stipulation shows the cost to the decedent of the various lots of stock which he purchased. Apparently the 800 shares sold prior to the taxable year, while the decedent had his account with Ware & Co., were charged against the earliest purchases. Both parties accept that as a proper step. The Commissioner has charged the 650 shares sold in 1928 against the next earliest purchases which the decedent made. Thus he has done exactly what his rule requires and we are unable to find that there is any error in his computation.

The petitioner argues that the 1,000 shares delivered to the decedent by Hano, Wasserman & Co., on September 24, 1928, should be charged against and should absorb the cost of the remaining 700 shares purchased through Ware & Co. and the first 300 shares purchased through Hano, Wasserman & Co., and, therefore, the 650 shares thereafter sold should be charged against the cost of the next [261]*261650 shares purchased through Hano, Wasserman & Co. This argument would be sound if the decedent had sold the 1,000 shares which were delivered to him out of his brokerage account. It might also require some modification of the Commissioner’s computation of the cost of the 650 shares if immediately after the delivery the account had contained less than 650 shares, because, in that event, it could be successfully argued that some of the 650 shares thereafter sold through that broker must, of necessity, have been shares acquired after September 24-, 1928. However, it appears that the 1,000 shares delivered to the petitioner were not sold by him. Article 58 of Regulations 74, according to its terms, applies only to stock sold, and the petitioner, therefore, finds no support in the terms of the rule for her argument that the rule should be applied first to the stock which the decedent removed from this particular brokerage account. It further appears that on September 24, 1928, when the 1,000 shares were delivered to the petitioner, there were 1,7'50 shares in the account; after the 1,000 shares were removed, 750 shares remained; and it is entirely possible that the 650 shares later sold came from this remainder of 750 shares. The decedent made no designation as to which shares he was removing, and the stipulation is that the 1,000 shares can not be identified. Thus the facts of this case do not require that any cost be allocated to the 1,000 shares removed from the Hano, Wasserman account and held by the decedent.

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Related

La Brum v. Commissioner
34 B.T.A. 258 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1936)

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Bluebook (online)
34 B.T.A. 258, 1936 BTA LEXIS 719, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/la-brum-v-commissioner-bta-1936.