Moreell v. United States

221 F. Supp. 864, 12 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5777, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10283
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 26, 1963
DocketCiv. A. 62-105
StatusPublished

This text of 221 F. Supp. 864 (Moreell v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moreell v. United States, 221 F. Supp. 864, 12 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5777, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10283 (W.D. Pa. 1963).

Opinion

GOURLEY, Chief Judge.

This is a suit for the refund of federal income taxes assessed against and collected from the taxpayers for the calendar years 1955 and 1956 in the amounts of $8,677.65 and $6,912.21 respectively.

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

1. Whether the costs of maintaining a personal residence occupied by the sole income beneficiary, rent free are deductible in determining the net distributable income of a trust, or whether the amounts so expended for maintenance constitute taxable income to said beneficiary.

The answer is “no.”

2. Whether the taxpayer may transfer her personal residence to a trust created by another of which taxpayer is a beneficiary as a means of reducing her taxable income.

3. Whether the taxpayer, the beneficiary of a trust, realizes income from the trust to the extent of the fair rental value of a residence owned and maintained by the trust and occupied by the beneficiary free of rent.

The answer is “yes.”

Robert J. Frank, a very wealthy man, in 1931 created a trust for his wife and among the assets was a mansion house which cost in the vicinity of one-half million dollars. After the trust became effective, and consistent with the provisions thereof, the property became vested in the taxpayer in the instant suit. Subsequently, due to the cost of maintenance, the mansion house was reconveyed to the trust.

Subsequent to reconveyance due to the inability of taxpayer to pay the cost of maintenance and operation, the trust paid said expenses. The payments made in the years 1955 and 1956 are the subject of this proceeding.

The detailed circumstances in support of this generalization will appear more *866 clearly and succinctly in the Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law incorporated as part of this Opinion.

APPLICABLE LAW

Internal Revenue Code of 1954:

“§ 261. General rule for disallowance of deductions
“In computing taxable income no deduction shall in any ease be allowed in respect of the items specified in this part.
(26 U.S.C. 1958 ed., § 261.)
“§ 262. Personal, living, and family expenses
“Except as otherwise expressly provided in this chapter, no deduction shall be allowed for personal, living, or family expenses.
(26 U.S.C. 1958 ed. § 262.)
“§ 643. Definitions applicable to subparts A, B, C, and D
* * * * * *
“(b) Income. — For purposes of this subpart and subparts B, C, and D, the term ‘income’, when not preceded by the words ‘taxable’, ‘distributable net’, ‘undistributed net’, or ‘gross’, means the amount of income of the estate or trust for the taxable year determined under the terms of the governing instrument and applicable local law. Items of gross income constituting extraordinary dividends or taxable stock dividends which the fiduciary, acting in good faith, determines to be allocable to corpus under the terms of the governing instrument and applicable local law shall not be considered income.
(26 U.S.C. 1958 ed., § 643.)
“§ 651. Deduction for trusts distributing current income only
“(a) Deduction. — In the case of any trust the terms of which—
“(1) provide that all of its income is required to be distributed currently, and
“(2) do not provide that any amounts are to be paid, permanently set aside, or used for the purposes specified in section 642(c) (relating to deduction for charitable, etc., purposes),
there shall be allowed as a deduction in computing the taxable income of the trust the amount of the income for the taxable year which is required to be distributed currently. This section shall not apply in any taxable year in which the trust distributes amounts other than amounts of income described in paragraph (1).
* * * * # #
(26 U.S.C. 1958 ed., § 651.)
“§ 652. Inclusion of amounts in gross income of beneficiaries of trusts distributing current income only
“(a) Inclusion. — Subject to subsection (b), the amount of income for the taxable year required to be distributed currently by a trust dedescribed in section 651 shall be included in the gross income of the beneficiaries to whom the income is required to be distributed, whether distributed or not. If such amount exceeds the distributable net income, there shall be included in the gross income of each beneficiary an amount which bears the same ratio to distributable net income as the amount of income required to be distributed to such beneficiary bears to the amount of income required to be distributed to all beneficiaries.
“(b) Character of amounts. — The amounts specified in subsection (a) shall have the same character in the hands of the beneficiary as in the hands of the trust. For this purpose, the amounts shall be treated as consisting of the same proportion of each class of items entering into the computation of distributable net income of the trust as the total of each class bears to the total distributable net income of the trust, unless the terms of the trust specifically alio *867 cate different classes of income to different beneficiaries. In the application of the preceding sentence, the items of deduction entering into the computation of distributable net income shall be allocated among the items of distributable net income in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate.
* * * * * *
(26 U.S.C. 1958 ed., § 652.)
“§ 671. Trust income, deductions, and credits attributable to grantors and others as substantial owners
“Where it is specified in this sub-part that the grantor or another person shall be treated as the owner of any portion of a trust, there shall then be included in computing the taxable income and credits of the grantor or the other person those items of income, deductions, and credits against tax of the trust which are attributable to that portion of the trust to the extent that such items would be taken into account under this chapter in computing taxable income or credits against the tax of an individual. * * *
“§ 672.

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Bluebook (online)
221 F. Supp. 864, 12 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5777, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moreell-v-united-states-pawd-1963.