Oliver v. Commissioner

30 B.T.A. 1381, 1934 BTA LEXIS 1190
CourtUnited States Board of Tax Appeals
DecidedJuly 31, 1934
DocketDocket No. 65640.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 30 B.T.A. 1381 (Oliver 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
Oliver v. Commissioner, 30 B.T.A. 1381, 1934 BTA LEXIS 1190 (bta 1934).

Opinion

[1383]*1383OPINION.

Matthews :

The question involved is the basis to be used in computing gain or loss from sales of the stock and rights of the American Radiator & .Standard Sanitary Corporation, which were sold in 1929. The pertinent provisions of the Revenue Act of 1928, which is here applicable, are set forth in the margin.1 The stock and rights [1384]*1384sold were acquired in 1929 upon an exchange of Standard Sanitary-stock for stock of the American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation, upon a statutory reorganization. The exchange, therefore, was a nontaxable transaction (sec. 112 (b) (3)) and the basis of the stock and rights received is the cost of the Standard Sanitary stock exchanged. Sec. 113 (a)(6).

The shares of Standard Sanitary stock exchanged were acquired in March 1928 in a three-for-one exchange of stock previously acquired by gift and stock dividend. Under the provisions of section 112 (b) (2), no gain or loss was recognized on the exchange in March 1928, and the basis of the stock received is the same as in the case of the stock exchanged. Sec. 113 (a) (6).

The stock exchanged in March 1928 consisted of the 5,000 shares received as a gift in 1923, the 1,250 shares received as a stock dividend in February 1925, and the 100 shares received as a gift in June 1925. The stock dividend, not being taxable when it was received, takes a pro rata portion of the cost of the stock with respect to which it was distributed. Therefore, the basis of the stock exchanged in 1928 was the basis of the stock received by gift and this basis is the same as it would be in the hands of the donor. Sec. 113 (a) (2).

[1385]*1385There are no records of the deceased husband available to show the actual cost of the Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Co. stock purchased after March 1, 1913. In determining the cost of the shares purchased after March 1,1913, and through October 1919, and of the 100 shares given to his wife on June 30, 1925, respondent used the market quotations on the Pittsburgh and Louisville exchanges on the dates nearest the dates of purchase. Petitioner accepted these values as representing cost of the lots purchased on .those dates and offered in evidence the market quotations of the stock on the date nearest each purchase made subsequent to October 1919, as the cost of the stock purchased on such dates. The stock was traded in on the Pittsburgh exchange and the quotations offered were the prices at which the stock sold. In the absence of evidence as to actual cost to petitioner’s husband, such values represent the cost of the stock to petitioner’s husband. Sec. 113 (a)(2), and also sec. 202 (a)(2), Revenue Act of 1921.

The 100 shares given to petitioner by her husband in June 1925 cost him $10,150. The 5,000 shares given to petitioner by her husband were acquired by him in February 1923, upon an exchange of his then holdings of 2,948 shares of $100 par value stock for 11,792 shares of $25 par value stock. The cost to Oliver of the 2,948 shares was $249,573. The question is, what was the basis to Oliver of the 5,000 shares given to petitioner?

The petitioner contends that the cost to Oliver of the 2,948 shares of stock exchanged, $249,573, should be averaged over the 11,792 shares received on the exchange and that this will give the basis of each of the 5,000 shares received by gift. This method would give $105,823 as the basis of the 5,000 shares. Petitioner cites Christian, W. Von Gunten, 28 B.T.A. 702, as authority for her contention.

Respondent contends that the first in, first out rule of article 58 of Regulations 74 is applicable. In applying this rule, he took the purchases made by Oliver through October 1919 as being the first five lots purchased, which, when increased by the 100 percent and 40 percent stock dividends and the four-for-one exchange in 1923, amounted to 40 shares over 5,000. He eliminated the 40 shares and the cost attributable thereto from lot 5 and arrived at the number of shares in the several lots and their cost as follows:

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[1386]*1386He then computed the number of shares in each lot after the stock dividend of February 1925, and the three-for-one exchange in March 1928. He next computed the number of shares of American Radiator stock at the rate of 1.09043 to which the number of Standard Sanitary shares in each lot would be equivalent; eliminated certain portions of the fractional share in each lot; allocated the cost of the several lots of the Standard stock to the American Radiator stock and rights to which it was equivalent; and determined that the 663 shares of the American Radiator stock sold were part of lot No. 1, acquired by Oliver prior to March 1, 1913, at a cost of $14,698. Pie computed that lot No. 1 was equivalent to 4,519% shares of American Radiator stock with a cost of $14,012.98 after eliminating part of the fractional share, and the cost allocable to the rights, or $3.05977 per share. He used this figure as the basis of each of the 663 shares sold in determining the amount of the gain.

In Christian W. Von Gunten, supra, we held that upon a reorganization the cost of the stock exchanged is the basis of the stock received and must be allocated equally to all the shares received. That case involved only one exchange, that upon reorganization. Respondent had sought to apply the first in, first out rule of article 58 of Regulations 74 in determining the gain on the sale of some of the stock received upon reorganization. With respect to this we said:

* * * The courts and this Board have approved of this rule when properly-applied because some simple and uniform rule was needed and the Commissioner by his regulations supplied one. Cf. Burdett Stryker, 21 B.T.A. 561; David Stewart, 17 B.T.A. 604; Snyder v. Commissioner, 54 Fed. (2d) 57, affirming John A. Snyder, 20 B.T.A. 778. The situation to which the regulations apply is where there has been a sale “ from lots purchased at different times and at different prices and the identity of the lots can not be determined.” In such cases the regulations charge the earliest sales against the earliest purchases. There is no analogy between cases expressly covered by those regulations and the present case, which is not covered by any regulation. Here the petitioner sold Borden stock. He had acquired all of his Borden stock at one time. Thus the sale was not made “ from lots purchased at different times and at different prices.”
Furthermore, there is no need for any rule in a case like this except the rule that the basis for all shares acquired at one time shall be prorated equally among thp shares. The petitioner disposed of all of his Averill stock at one time by exchanging it for Borden stock. This exchange was “ in pursuance of the plan of reorganization” and section 112(b)(3) expressly provides that no gain or loss shall be recognized in such an exchange. Were it not for this provision the general rule of section 112(a) would apply. That rule is that “ upon the sale or exchange of property the entire amount of the gain or loss, determined under section 111, shall b,e recognized.” The gain or loss upon that exchange would have been the difference between the total cost of the Averill stock and the fair market value of the Borden stock at the date received. The basis for subsequent gain or loss on the Borden stock [1387]

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Related

Hudson v. Commissioner
39 B.T.A. 1075 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1939)
Wheeler v. Commissioner
32 B.T.A. 917 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1935)
Fuller v. Commissioner
31 B.T.A. 154 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1934)
Oliver v. Commissioner
30 B.T.A. 1381 (Board of Tax Appeals, 1934)

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Bluebook (online)
30 B.T.A. 1381, 1934 BTA LEXIS 1190, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oliver-v-commissioner-bta-1934.