Otis Elevator Co. v. United States

356 F.2d 157, 174 Ct. Cl. 357
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedFebruary 18, 1966
DocketNo. 88-63
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 356 F.2d 157 (Otis Elevator Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Otis Elevator Co. v. United States, 356 F.2d 157, 174 Ct. Cl. 357 (cc 1966).

Opinion

Laramore, Judge,

delivered tbe opinion of tlie court:

This is a suit to recover income taxes paid by the plaintiff for the years 1951 through 1953 in the amount of $472,607.22, plus interest, on the theory that the taxpayer qualifies as a “western hemisphere trade corporation.”

The sole issue in this case is whether the taxpayer is entitled to the special credit under section 26 (i) of the Internal [Revenue Code of 1939. Revenue Act of 1950, ch. 994, 64 Stat. 906, 920, as amended, 26 U.S.C. §§26(i), 109 (1952 Ed.). The statute prescribes three conditions which must be met in order for a domestic corporation to qualify: At least 95 percent of gross income must be derived from sources outside the United States; at least 90 percent of gross income must be derived from the active conduct of a trade or business ; and lastly, all of its business must be done in the western hemisphere.

Concededly, plaintiff meets the first two of these conditions, and the only question is whether all of its business was done in western hemisphere countries which include the United States. All the facts except for the years involved, the figures showing the volume of business, number of employees, income of plaintiff’s branches in Latin America, are substantially the same as presented in the case of Otis Elevator Company v. United States, 157 Ct. Cl. 339, 301 F. 2d 320 (1962), which suit involved taxes paid for the year 1950. Also, the identical issue as before the court in Otis Elevator, supra, is present in this case.

During the years presently in issue, the cost of components, as a percentage of gross receipts, which were manufactured in Europe amounted to 8.4 percent in 1951, 16.9 percent in 1952, and 15.2 percent in 1953, as compared with 6.2 percent in 1950. Thus, the only problem before the court now is whether the higher percentages of components manufactured in Europe take this case without the reasoning in the 1950 case. In that case, we held that the plaintiff should prevail under either a test of “minor” or “incident to,” even though components purchased in Europe totalled 6.2 percent of gross receipts. 157 Ct. Cl. at 350; 301 F. 2d at 326. Similarly in this case, we think the purchases were not so substantial as [359]*359to deprive tlie taxpayer, otherwise eligible, of the right to the credit.

For the above stated reason, we hold that plaintiff is entitled to recover, with interest, and judgment will be entered to that effect. The amount of recovery will be determined pursuant to Buie 47 (c) (2).

FINDINGS OF FACT

The court, having considered the facts as stipulated by the parties, and the briefs and argument of counsel, makes findings of fact as follows:

1. Plaintiff was organized under the laws of the State of Maine in 1924 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Otis Elevator Company, a New Jersey corporation (hereinafter referred to as “New Jersey”), and has continued to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Jersey since its organization. The parent, New Jersey, has its main office in a building situated at 260 Eleventh Avenue in New York City, and the plaintiff’s only office in the United States is in the same building. Plaintiff’s tax returns for the years 1951,1952, and 1953 were filed with the District Director for the Second District of New York, and it keeps its books and files its tax returns on a calendar year basis.

2. During the years 1951 through 1953, plaintiff was engaged in the business of installing elevators and escalators in new and existing buildings, and of servicing, repairing, and modernizing such equipment. The income which plaintiff earned from installations was classified as “Gross Beceipts from Installations,” and the income earned from servicing, etc., as “Gross Beceipts from Service.” As part of its installation contracts, plaintiff agreed to provide maintenance service (inspection, lubrication, adjusting equipment at regular intervals, and replacing worn parts as needed) for a period of three months after completion of the installation. Normally, after the expiration of the three-month period, similar agreements, termed maintenance contracts, would be entered into under which plaintiff made a monthly charge for servicing such equipment, and this income was classified as gross receipts from service.

3. Plaintiff’s business, as described in finding 2 above, was carried on by branches located in various countries in South and Central America. Set forth below is a schedule showing, [360]*360for the years in suit, the location of these branches, the number of employees employed by each branch, and the payroll of each branch:

Plaintiff had no offices or other places of business other than its New York office (which handled only administrative and accounting matters) and the branches listed above. These branches engaged in installation and servicing, and the branch in Argentina also had some manufacturing facilities.

4. In accordance with normal branch accounting methods, each of plaintiff’s branch offices maintained books of account reflecting, in terms of the currency of the particular country in which it was located, its assets, liabilities, and income and expenses. Plaintiff’s New York office maintained a complementary set of books reflecting, in terms of United States currency, its investment in each branch and the annual profits of each branch. In maintaining these books and records, plaintiff’s New York office utilized the staff of its parent, New Jersey, and the cost for such services and for the use of office space was charged to the plaintiff by New Jersey.

5. During the years in suit, 1951 through 1953, all of plaintiff’s gross income (except for miscellaneous income in the amounts of $96,169.37, $38,421.52, and $54,806.96, respectively) was derived from payments received by its branches for the installation of elevators and escalators and for the servicing of such equipment in the countries in which its [361]*361branches were located. The amounts of such income as well as its gross receipts and costs were as follows:

During each of these years, as well as for the years 1949 and 1950, plaintiff derived more than 95 percent of its gross income from sources outside the United States, and derived more than 90 percent of its gross income from the active conduct of a trade or business.

6. During the years in suit, 1951 through 1953, plaintiff paid taxes to the countries in which it had branches (in the aggregate amounts of $191,645.05, $196,280.77, and $217,-816.61 respectively), and on its tax returns for those years it took and was allowed a f oreign tax credit relative to those amounts, which was applied against its United States tax liability.

7. During the years here involved, plaintiff’s parent, New Jersey, had facilities for the manufacture of elevator equipment in the United States and had wholly or partially owned foreign subsidiaries with manufacturing facilities in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Mexico. These foreign subsidiaries did business under the names, and in the countries, shown in finding 8 below.

8. Plaintiff’s branches used various “component parts” in connection with their installation of elevators and escalators.

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Related

Otis Elevator Co. v. United States
618 F.2d 712 (Court of Claims, 1980)
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361 F.2d 222 (Court of Claims, 1966)

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Bluebook (online)
356 F.2d 157, 174 Ct. Cl. 357, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/otis-elevator-co-v-united-states-cc-1966.