Lewis v. Commissioner

42 T.C. 885, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 60
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedAugust 17, 1964
DocketDocket No. 91725
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 42 T.C. 885 (Lewis 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
Lewis v. Commissioner, 42 T.C. 885, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 60 (tax 1964).

Opinion

Fisheh, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in income tax of petitioners for the years 1954- and 1955 in the respective amounts of $13,724.94 and $12,347.28. The issue presented for consideration is whether, during the taxable years 1954 and 1955, petitioner operated an enterprise in which capital was a material income-producing factor, thereby permitting him to elect, under section 1361, Code of 1954, to have the enterprise taxed as a domestic corporation.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The stipulated facts are found accordingly and are incorporated herein 'by reference.

Petitioners are husband and wife and reside at 1241 Peermont Avenue, Pittsburgh,' Pa. They filed joint Federal income tax returns for 1954 and 1955 with the district director of internal revenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. Since Marilyn Lewis is a party to this proceeding only because slie filed joint income tax returns for ilie years involved, Howard T. Lewis, Jr., will hereinafter be referred to as petitioner.

Petitioner graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1943 and has been authorized to practice medicine in Pennsylvania since 1944.

During the years 1944 to 1947, petitioner served with the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army. In the performance of hi's duties as a battalion surgeon, stationed in the Philippines, petitioner contracted bul-bar polio and was confined to an Army hospital for approximately 18 months.

His illness stimulated petitioner into research of methods of combating debilitating and degenerative diseases such as polio, arthritis, diabetes, heart, vascular, and obesity. Petitioner concluded that these types of diseases could best 'be controlled by a program of nutritional regimen. He believed that proper treatment through nutrition required, in addition to the medical evaluation of a patient’s condition, the prescription of necessary drugs and the development for each patient of a regimen which must be followed strictly.

By 1950, petitioner determined that in order to correlate these requirements certain processes should be performed -under his personal supervision. These processes consisted of clinical activities such as the development and maintenance of a laboratory, maintenance of inventory of drugs and nutritional supplies, and the use of treatment and lecture rooms. Petitioner uses no special equipment in his program.

Petitioner, in 1952, founded a health clinic (hereinafter referred to as the clinic). By the beginning of 1954, the physical quarters owned by petitioner and occupied by the clinic consisted of, in addition to a waiting room and administrative quarters, a laboratory, a drug department, seven treatment rooms, and a small auditorium or lecture room. The examining rooms contained the normal equipment found in medical offices, including tables, scales, medicine cabinets, blood pressure machines, etc. Petitioner also occupied the upper floors of this building as a residence. In addition, petitioner carried on his normal medical practice from this building without differentiation being made in the medical quarters.

The patient, upon beginning the program, is given a thorough physical examination and his medical history is taken. He is measured and weighed and all relative and pertinent facts are obtained. The patient is then instructed with respect to what will be provided for him as well as what is expected of him. It is petitioner’s theory that there are certain treatment principles with which the patient is to abide, among which are a heavy supplemental diet with minerals and vitamins as well as other medications which generally prove expensive to the patient.

Petitioner discovered that most patients tend to place very little importance on preventive health measures and, in order to assist such patients, it was necessary to provide a method to keep them under treatment irrespective of their economic status. To accomplish this, petitioner set the cost of the program to the patient at $10 per month rather than a fee based upon the number of visits or the length of the individual program involved.

During the course of his general medical practice, petitioner, on occasion, diagnosed that his patients were suffering from certain degenerative illnesses. As a result, many of these patients began petitioner’s nutritional program administered through the clinic. Petitioner preferred that his patients suffering from any of the degenerative illnesses undergo this program of treatment rather than be treated in some other manner.

The types of property owned by petitioner and employed jointly in the operation of the clinic and his general medical practice during the years 1954 and 1955 and their depreciated values are as follows:

Assets Date acquired Cost of assets acquired prior to Jan. 1,1954 Depreciation prior to Balance Jan. 1, 1954 Jan. 1,1954 Addition 1954

Land — __ 1948 $2,950.00 $2,950.00

Office building. 1948 9,173.37 $2,109.86 7,063.52

Addition. 1952 4,917.88 491.80 4,426.08

Do.. 1953 1,431.68 71.58 1,360.10

Do. 1954 $14,500.00

Do. 1955

Garage.. 1948 790.18 454.37 335.81

Porch. 1950 450.00

Equipment. 1948 1,980.00 1,188.00 792.00

Automobile_ 1952 2,650.00 1,777.78 872.22 1 (577.77)

Do. 1954 2,909.57

Air conditioner.._ 1953 1,750.00 350.00 1,400.00

Do. 1954

Bug. 1952 400.00 266.66 133.34

Jeep... 1950 600.00 360.00 240.00

Speaker system_ 1953 193.35 38.67 154.68

Furniture and fixtures. 1954

Floors and cabinets.... 1954

Drapes_ 1954 570.39

Electronic system_ 1954 539.77

Total. 28,336.46 8,158.71 20,177.75 23,665.63

The only items used exclusively by petitioner in his general practice of medicine during 1954 and 1955 were a jeep acquired in 1950 at a cost of $600 and two automobiles, the first acquired in 1952 at a cost of $2,650 and the second acquired in 1954, upon a trade-in of the first, at a cost of $2,909.57.

During the years 1954 and 1955, the clinic purchased drugs and nutritional supplies at a cost of approximately $18,000 and $20,000 for the respective years and maintained during said period an inventory of such items of approximately $8,000 and $10,000 in value. Such drugs 'and supplies were dispensed without charge (other than

Assets Depreciation 1954 Balance Dec. 31,1954 Addition 1958 Depreciation 1955 Balance Dec. 31,1955
Land.. $2,950.00 $2,950.00
Office building_ $366.93 6,696.69 $366.93 6,329.66
Addition.. 196.72 4,229.36 196.72 4,032.64
Do.. 71.58 1,288.62 71.58 1,216.94
Do.. 725.00 13,775.00 726.00 13,050.00
Do..

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Van Kalker v. Commissioner
81 T.C. No. 8 (U.S. Tax Court, 1983)
Bruno v. Commissioner
71 T.C. 191 (U.S. Tax Court, 1978)
Shepherd Constr. Co. v. Commissioner
51 T.C. 890 (U.S. Tax Court, 1969)
Miller v. Commissioner
51 T.C. 755 (U.S. Tax Court, 1969)
Lewis v. Commissioner
42 T.C. 885 (U.S. Tax Court, 1964)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
42 T.C. 885, 1964 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-commissioner-tax-1964.