Owens Machinery Co. v. Commissioner

54 T.C. 877, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 152
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 28, 1970
DocketDocket No. 1365-68
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 54 T.C. 877 (Owens Machinery Co. 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
Owens Machinery Co. v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 877, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 152 (tax 1970).

Opinion

OPINION

Qttealy, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency in the Federal income tax of Owens Machinery Co., Inc., for the calendar year 1958 in the amount of $1,874.50. The petitioner claims an overpayment for such year in the amount of $36,017.60 resulting from the carryback of a net operating loss deduction for the calendar year 1961. The sole issue relates to a determination of the amount of loss sustained in the calendar year 1961 on account of certain transactions whereby the petitioner transferred stock of its subsidiary and real property to one of its principal stockholders in exchange for its own stock and cash. The respondent would disallow a part of the loss as constituting a distribution by the petitioner with respect to its stock within the meaning of section 311.1

The facts have been stipulated. The stipulation of facts and exhibits thereto are incorporated herein by this reference.

Owens Machinery Co., Inc., the petitioner, was organized under the laws of the State of Alabama, on March 22, 1945, as Leary & Owens Machinery Co., Inc. On March 1,1962, the name of the petitioner was changed to Owens Machinery Co., Inc. On March 25, 1968, the date the petition was filed in this case, petitioner had its principal place of business at 3600 Fifth Avenue, North, Birmingham, Ala. For the taxable years 1957 through 1961 petitioner filed its income tax returns with the district director of internal revenue at Birmingham, Ala.

During the years herein involved the principal business activity of the petitioner was the selling, servicing, and repairing of heavy construction equipment. During such years the principal supplier of the petitioner was Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co.

As of Jairaary 1,1961, the outstanding capital stock of the petitioner consisted of 2,400 shares of common stock with the par value of $100 per share. On such date Harry J. Leary, president, and Wyatt Owens, vice president, each owned 945 shares of its stock.

On July 9, 1955, petitioner organized a subsidiary corporation, Leary & Owens Equipment Co., Inc. Prior to October 18, 1961, petitioner owned 2,040 shares (85 percent) of the 2,400 shares of capital stock of the subsidiary. The subsidiary, managed by petitioner, engaged in substantially the same business as the petitioner in Montgomery, Ala., and occupied real estate in Montgomery owned by petitioner.

During 1961, and immediately prior thereto, certain differences arose between Harry J. Leary and Wyatt Owens, the principal stockholders of the petitioner. Due to such differences and for other business reasons, Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. demanded a reconciliation of the differences of the two principal stockholders and a complete separation of the two corporations, petitioner (whose name was then Leary & Owens Machinery Co., Inc.) and the subsidiary corporation, Leary & Owens Equipment Co., Inc. Allis Chalmers was the major supplier and principal creditor of both petitioner and its subsidiary, Leary & Owens Equipment Co., Inc., and as such supplier and creditor, Allis Chalmers further insisted on the right to approve the agreement between the parties resulting in a separation of the parent corporation, petitioner herein, and the subsidiary corporation. Since both petitioner and the subsidiary corporation were heavily indebted to Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co., it was in a position to enforce its demands.

After some negotiations, one of the principal stockholders, Harry J. Leary, made an offer to the petitioner to effect the directives of Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Co. The offer (which was approved by Allis Chalmers) stipulated that if petitioner rejected the offer, then Wyatt Owens, the other principal stockholder, would make the same offer which would be accepted by petitioner. The offer thus became a “buy or sell” offer between Mr. Leary and petitioner, due to the fact that either Mr. Leary or Mr. Owens would become the remaining principal stockholder of petitioner. Mr. Leary’s offer was accepted by petitioner.

An agreement was entered into on October 18, 1961, between the petitioner and Mr. Leary which provided, in part as follows:

1. The petitioner would transfer 2,040 shares of the stock of its subsidiary to Mr. Leary in exchange for 945 shares of its stock plus $25,000.

2. The petitioner would transfer certain real property at Montgomery, Ala., to Mr. Leary for the sum of $150,000.

3. The indebtedness owing by the petitioner to the subsidiary would be liquidated through the transfer of certain life insurance policies and certain equipment to the subsidiary.

The parties have stipulated that the fair market value of petitioner’s stock, as of October 18, 1961, was $50 per share and that petitioner’s basis for the 2,040 shares of Leary & Owens Equipment Co., Inc., was $206,960.

The parties have also stipulated that the basis of the Montgomery property was $40,763.17. The consideration received by the petitioner was stated to be $150,000.

In the original examination of the petitioner’s return for the year 1961, the respondent treated the sale of the Montgomery property and the exchange of the stock as separate transactions, determining that the petitioner realized a gain on the sale of the Montgomery property and loss on the exchange of its subsidiary’s stock for stock and cash. The petitioner accepted that determination. In this proceeding, however, the respondent would treat the exchange of the subsidiary’s stock itself as two separate transactions, namely, a sale in part of the subsidiary’s stock for $25,000 and a distribution by the petitioner with respect to its stock under section 311 as to the balance of the subsidiary’s stock. The respondent would disallow any loss on account of the stock distributed pursuant to section 311.2

The petitioner now argues that the entire consideration passing between the parties, consisting of the real property and stock of the subsidiary on the one hand, and the stock of petitioner and cash on the other hand, should be considered together as a single transaction for purposes of determining the gain or loss.

In determining the effect of these transactions, we must look to the agreement as a whole. The exchange of stock for stock and cash, the sale of the Montgomery property, and the settlement of Mr. Leary’s debt to the petitioner were interdependent. Each separate transaction was a part of an overall plan designed to separate the two businesses and the interests of the two conflicting stockholders. The consummation of the agreement resulted in a complete separation of the interests of the two stockholders and of the businesses of the petitioner and its former subsidiary.

On the other hand, it does not follow that the tax consequences should be determined by lumping all transactions together into a single sale or exchange for the purpose of striking a balance as is claimed by the petitioner. In determining whether there has been any gain or loss, which necessitates allocation of the consideration flowing between the parties, each transaction must be considered separately. This would be necessary even if the agreement had not, in fact, provided for such separation. Bryant Heater Co. v. Commissioner, 231 F. 2d 938 (C.A. 6, 1956); Particelli v.

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Owens Machinery Co. v. Commissioner
54 T.C. 877 (U.S. Tax Court, 1970)

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Bluebook (online)
54 T.C. 877, 1970 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 152, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/owens-machinery-co-v-commissioner-tax-1970.