McGee v. Commissioner

61 T.C. No. 27, 61 T.C. 249, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 20, 1973
DocketDocket No. 7787-70
StatusPublished
Cited by244 cases

This text of 61 T.C. No. 27 (McGee 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
McGee v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. No. 27, 61 T.C. 249, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18 (tax 1973).

Opinion

Dbennen, Judge:

Respondent determined the following deficiencies in and additions to petitioner’s Federal income tax:

Year Deficiency Addition under sec. 6658(b)
1957- $9, 572. 28 $4, 786. 14
1958- 6, 411. 55 3, 205. 78
1959- 5, 274. 36 2, 637. 18
1960- 6, 285. 14 3, 142. 57
1961- 4,518.26 2,259.13
1962- 2, 394. 42 1, 197. 21
1963- 1,058.03 529.01

Petitioner admits that he received amounts of money from the source mentioned below in each of the years 1957-63 which he did not report on his tax returns for those years. Respondent concedes that the notice of deficiency was mailed after expiration of the statutory limitations period for all years except 1963. The issues are whether the unreported amounts received by petitioner were taxable income; if so, whether petitioner’s failure to include those amounts in his returns for 1957-63 and Ms failure to pay tax thereon was due to fraud so as to require imposition of the 50-percent additions to tax under section 6653 (b), I.B.C. 1954, and whether petitioner’s returns for each of those years were fraudulent with intent to evade tax so as to lift the bar of the statute of limitations for the years 1957-62 under section 6501(c) (1). There is also an issue as to the amount of cash petitioner received in 1957 and 1958.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The stipulated facts are incorporated herein by tMs reference.

George C. McGee, petitioner, was a resident of Groves, Tex., at the time of the filing of the petition herein. For the taxable years 1957 through 1963, petitioner filed individual income tax returns with the district director of internal revenue, Austin, Tex.

In each of the above taxable years, petitioner was employed by Gulf Oil Corp. (Gulf) as its port engineer in Port Arthur, Tex. Petitioner’s general duty was to oversee the performance of maintenance and repairs on ships, tankers, barges, and other of Gulf’s marine vessels in the Gulf Coast area. Petitioner thus inspected incoming and outgoing vessels, determined what .work, if any, was necessary, arranged to employ marine contractors and service establishments, and supervised and directed repair operations. WitMn the scope of Ms employment, petitioner received, examined, and approved for payment invoices rendered by contractors and service establishments. Petitioner would initial invoices he approved and deliver them to Gulf for payment. Gulf would issue checks payable directly to the contractors and service establishments, but would deliver the checks to petitioner for transmittal to the payees.

Two marine contractors Mred by petitioner in the taxable years 1957 through 1963 were Port Arthur Marine Engineering Works (PAMEW) and Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Co. (GCMC).

Petitioner obtained payments from PAMEW and GCMC as a condition to each firm’s doing business with Gulf.

Payments from PAMEW originated with mvoices submitted by that firm which contained either in whole or m part charges for services not actually performed. Such invoices were made at petitioner’s request, typed on PAMEW invoice forms by PAMEW personnel, initialed by petitioner to indicate Ms approval for payment by Gulf, and taken by petitioner to Gulf for payment. Gulf never rejected or refused to pay such invoices, but always prepared checks payable to PAMEW. Petitioner would then either personally deliver Gulf’s checks to PAMEW or, after notifying the latter, mail the checks to it. PAMEW would deposit the checks in its general bank account and pay to petitioner a previously arranged portion of each remittance; petitioner’s share varied from 5 to 50 percent.

Payments to petitioner were made in five ways: (1) In cash, given to petitioner in the office of PAMEW’s president; (2) by check drawn on PAMEW payable to petitioner and endorsed by him; (3) by check drawn on PAMEW payable to petitioner and endorsed for deposit in petitioner’s bank account by PAMEW’s president; (4) by check drawn on PAMEW payable to PAMEW’s president but endorsed payable to petitioner; and (5) by check payable to PAMEW’s president, but endorsed for deposit to petitioner’s bank account. One check payable to petitioner and two checks payable to the president of PAMEW but endorsed to petitioner totaling $2,455.86 were endorsed by an Alice Willingham :as well as by petitioner.

In the taxable years at issue, petitioner received the following amounts by checks drawn on the bank account of PAMEW, which petitioner did not report on his income tax returns for those years:

Taccable
year Receipts
1957 _$10, 511.41
1958 _ 6,807.91
1959 _ 6, 917. 77
1960 _ 7,287.59
Taxable
•year Receipts
1961_$6, 898.61
1962 _ 2, 784.00
1963 _ 2, 800.00

In the taxable year 1951 petitioner received cash in at least the amount of $2,183.61, and in 1958 in at least the amount of $1,191.12, from PAMEW, which petitioner did not report on his income tax returns for those years.

On November 21, 1963, Gulf filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, seeking recovery of funds which, Gulf alleged, inter alia, petitioner had obtained from it by fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. Petitioner filed an answer denying liability ; however, the action ultimately was settled, petitioner agreeing to pay Gulf $10,000.

During the taxable years 1951 through 1963, GCMC paid sums to petitioner which it reported on Treasury Forms 1099 and which petitioner reported on his income tax returns for those years. GCMC did not receive any of the sums paid petitioner from false or padded invoices to Gulf, but from work it actually performed for Gulf.

In the course of an audit of his returns in 1965 petitioner denied to the investigating revenue agent that he had received any funds from PAMEW that he had not reported on his returns for the years here involved. During the years here involved petitioner had a checking account in a bank in Port Arthur, Tex. Respondent made an extensive but unfruitful search for other bank accounts of any kind in petitioner’s name.

ULTIMATE FINDINGS

Petitioner realized ordinary taxable income from the amounts he received from PAMEW in each of the years 1957 — 63, which he failed to report on his income tax returns for those years.

Petitioner’s failure to include the above amounts in gross income reported on his returns for those years and his failure to pay tax thereon was due to fraud.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
61 T.C. No. 27, 61 T.C. 249, 1973 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 18, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcgee-v-commissioner-tax-1973.