Legg v. Commissioner

57 T.C. 164, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 32
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 1, 1971
DocketDocket No. 2407-69
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 57 T.C. 164 (Legg 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
Legg v. Commissioner, 57 T.C. 164, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 32 (tax 1971).

Opinion

Sterrett, Judge:

The Commissioner initially determined deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income taxes, as follows t1

Year Amount
June 30, 1965_$15, 450.14
June 30, 1966_.- 601. 89

By an amendment to his answer the Commissioner has alleged that the deficiency for the taxable year ended June 30,1966, should be increased to $3,01-3.27.2

Due to concessions, the issues remaining for our determination are:

(1) Whether the transfer of a real estate installment sales contract to an inter vivos trust produces a taxable gain and if so, to what extent. This requires us to determine if:

(a) the transfer was considered to foe a disposition within the meaning of section 453 (d), I.R.C. 1954,3 and, if the answer be in the affirmative;

(fo) the fair market value of the above-mentioned installment obligation at the time of the transfer.

(2) Whether during 1965 the A. Z. Wells Foundation, a charitable trust, was publicly supported within the meaning of section 170(b) (1) (A). This determination will lead us to a conclusion concerning the petitioners’ right to:

(a) deduct a charitable contribution to the extent of 30 percent of their adjusted gross income and;

(b) carry over the remaining charitable contribution to the following years.

(3) In the alternative if we determine that a disposition has in fact occurred, then we must decide if the required $6,000-per-year payment was the payment of an annuity or merely the receipt of interest.4

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and the stipulation of facts and the exhibits attached thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

The petitioners, A. W. Legg, born March 4, 1902, and Williamena Legg, bom June 14, 1898, are husband and wife and their legal residence was Manson, Wash., as of the date their petition was filed with the Tax Court. Their joint Federal income tax returns for the fiscal years ended June 30, 1965, and June 30, 1966, were filed with the district director of internal revenue at Tacoma, Wash.

The petitioners have been engaged in operating an apple orchard near Manson, Wash., since 1925. The business of growing apples is an extremely hazardous economic occupation. The grower is subject not only to the everchanging supply and demand but in addition must suffer with sudden frosts, hailstorms, and drought. If an orchard is destroyed by the elements it takes approximately 15 years to return the trees to full production. In this regard, on March 22,1965, the petitioners having experienced some adverse years in the fruit-growing business and having advanced in age, sold a large part of their orchard, about 30 acres, plus some equipment' to the Wells & Wade Fruit Co. under a real estate contract. The contract fixed the sales price at $140,000, the fair market value of the property sold, with a $20,000 downpayment required. The contract provided tbat the petitioners could only receive interest at a rate of 5 percent per annum on the principal balance owing of $120,000. No principal payment would be due during their lives; the entire amount became due and payable upon the death of the survivor. The contract also contained a provision requiring the creation of an “Accumulation Trust Fund,” into which the purchaser was to deposit the profit of the orchard so as to further secure the payment of the 5-percent interest.

The $20,000 downpayment was paid by the purchaser to petitioners and was reported on Schedule D of their Federal income tax return for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1965, as long-term capital gain. In their return, petitioners elected to report the gain from this sale on the installment basis under, the provisions of section 453 (b).

On the same date, March 22, 1965; petitioners executed an agreement with the Seattle-First National Bank as trustee for the creation of an irrevocable living trust. They also executed an assignment of contract and deed conveying to the bank as trustee the real estate contract with Wells & Wade Fruit Co. According to the terms of the trust the petitioners retained the right to receive $6,000 per year from income or if necessary from corpus, an amount identical with the amount of annual interest due under the real estate contract, for their joint lives which amount could, at the option of the trustee, be reduced by annual trustee’s fees. The fee charged was $10 per year subject, however, to increase if additional work was required. At their death the principal of the trust was to be distributed to the charitable trust known as the A. Z. Wells Foundation (sometimes referred to herein as the foundation).

On their income tax return for the taxable year ended June 30, 1965, petitioners claimed a deduction for a charitable contribution to the A. Z. Wells Foundation in the amount of $7,504.85. This deduction was based upon an estimated present value of the remainder interest provided for the foundation in the petitioners’ inter vivos trust. In the following year ended June 30, 1966, they claimed a carryover of this item in the 'amount of $10,241.20.

Wells & Wade Fruit Co., the purchaser of petitioners’ orchard property, is a well-established corporation located in Wenatchee, Wash. It is engaged exclusively in growing and marketing fruit, primarily apples, and its financial position was secure and substantial. It is and was at all times material thereto wholly owned by the Seattle-First National Bank, as trustee under a testamentary trust created by the will of A. Z. Wells. The trust is commonly known as the A. Z. Wells Foundation.

The A. Z. Wells Foundation was a charitable trust in 1965 as defined in section 170(c) (2) and hence contributions to it were deductible. At its creation in 1950 the foundation, through its trustee, owned stock in two corporations valued at $2 million. The will of A. Z. Wells, which created the foundation, lists all possible beneficiaries including certain charitable agencies, nonprofit hospitals, and certain student scholarships. The Seattle-First National Bank, as trustee, determines the amount available for distribution, and a separate committee determines the allocation of available funds to the named beneficiaries. From 1951 through 1970 the foundation received and distributed or accumulated income in the amount of $1,015,454. During this same period of time the foundation’s two subsidiaries had entered into four or five transactions similar to petitioners’ sale of their orchard and donation of the remainder interest in the .contract. The potential value of these future interests was approximately $600,000. Only one such item amounting to $90,000 has actually been received by the foundation. There have been no other major contributions by the public. A news release each year notes the total amount distributed by the foundation but it does not include any detail concerning the specific amounts donated to the separate beneficiaries nor does it explain in any way the operations and finances of the foundation.

OPINION

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Bluebook (online)
57 T.C. 164, 1971 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 32, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/legg-v-commissioner-tax-1971.