Phi Delta Theta Fraternity v. Commissioner

90 T.C. No. 68, 90 T.C. 1033, 1988 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 16, 1988
DocketDocket No. 10500-86
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 90 T.C. No. 68 (Phi Delta Theta Fraternity 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
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity v. Commissioner, 90 T.C. No. 68, 90 T.C. 1033, 1988 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65 (tax 1988).

Opinion

GERBER, Judge:

By statutory notice dated March 3, 1986, respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner’s Federal income tax for the taxable year ended June 30, 1979, in the amount of $37,068. The issue presented for our consideration is whether the net investment income from petitioner’s Frank J.R. Mitchell Scroll Endowment Fund is subject to income tax as unrelated business income of an exempt organization.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. The stipulation of facts and attached exhibits are incorporated herein by this reference.

Petitioner, the national office of a college men’s fraternity, is a not-for-profit corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(7).1 Petitioner was incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio, and at the time the petition herein was filed, had its principal office at Oxford, Ohio.2 The return for the period here involved was a Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return, timely filed with the office of the Internal Revenue Service at Cincinnati, Ohio.

Petitioner owns and maintains an endowment fund named the Frank J.R. Mitchell Scroll Endowment Fund (Scroll Fund). The regulations governing the Scroll Fund provide that petitioner may use the income therefrom as follows: first, for the payment of any necessary expenses incurred in the administration of the trust by the corporate trustees; second, for the payment of the necessary expenses of editing, printing, and publishing the periodical publications of the fraternity; and third, for the payment of any other necessary expenses of the fraternity under the laws of the fraternity as to the ordinary revenues.

Pursuant to the regulations governing the Scroll Fund, petitioner publishes a journal called the Scroll. This magazine, the official publication of the organization, is published, generally, 5 times a year, and has been published continuously since 1878.3 Approximately 60,000 copies of each issue are distributed as follows: 53,000 to alumni, 5,000 to undergraduates, and 2,000 to libraries and universities. The expenses of publishing and distributing the Scroll are paid by the Scroll Fund.

In a readership survey conducted by petitioner on September 8, 1982, the editorial philosophy of the magazine was stated, generally speaking, as follows: (1) To provide readers with information on developments and issues within the fraternity; (2) to provide readers with information about the achievements of undergraduates and alumni; (3) to feature prominent alumni and their accomplishments; and (4) to provide readers with educational information about society and higher education.

The general content of the Scroll is as follows: (1) The “Busy Phis” section features an article on an alumnus who has achieved outstanding success in the business world. For example, the Summer 1978 issue carried a story on J. Willard Marriott and how he successfully moved from operating a root beer stand in Washington, D.C., to founding one of the world’s largest corporations, the Marriott Corporation. J. Willard Marriott has been a member of petitioner’s Utah chapter since 1925. This section also contains a short article on an outstanding alumnus who has received a distinguished award or made an outstanding achievement in the military or business sector. For example, the Summer 1978 issue featured Aloysius T. Hackenberg, a member of the North Dakota chapter since 1946, as “Phi of the Year.” Hackenberg was named winner of the Raymond L. Gardner award as “Phi of the Year” for 1977. At that time, Hackenberg was an insurance executive with a major insurance company. Also, there was an article appearing in this section on James H. Pierce, a member of the Indiana chapter since 1920, entitled “California Phi Oldest Living Tarzan.”4 (2) The “What’s going on in Phi Delta Theta” section announces any important upcoming event. For example, the Summer 1978 issue announced the fraternity’s Biennial Convention and referred to it as “the single most important event in the fraternity program.” The announcement went on to describe the convention as an event where representatives and members of the fraternity come together for current information on the status of the fraternity, and participate in the legislative decisions of the fraternity. (3) The “Phis in Sports” section features outstanding members in sports. For example, the Summer 1978 issue carried an article on the first five members of the 1977 All-Phi basketball team, as selected by the All-Phi Board, who were all repeaters from the 1976 team. (4) The “Directory” sets forth a list of all the officers of the general council, the staff of the general headquarters, and the current fraternity chapters by State, as well as the members of each chapter. (5) The “Chapter Grand” section is an obituary section which lists the deaths of members of the fraternity and a short biography of each deceased. (6) The “Alumni News” section covers significant happenings in some of the chapters.

During the taxable period ending June 30, 1979, the Scroll Fund earned $120,367 in investment income and incurred $5,730 in expenses directly attributable to the production of the investment income, with remaining net investment income of $114,637. During this taxable period, petitioner paid $96,374.21 in expenses directly associated with the publication and distribution of the Scroll. The expenses were paid from the net investment of the Scroll Fund through a reimbursement from the Scroll Fund to petitioner’s general fund.5 Net investment income in the amount of $18,262.79 remained in the fund as an asset of the fund.

For the period ended June 30, 1979, petitioner excluded from the computation of unrelated business taxable income the net investment income of the Scroll Fund in the amount of $114,637. The basis for petitioner’s exclusion of this income is the claim that the net investment income was set aside under section 512(a)(3)(B) for a purpose specified in section 170(c)(4). Respondent disallowed tax-exempt treatment to the net investment income of the Scroll Fund on the following grounds: (1) The Scroll is not published for an exempt purpose specified in section 170(c)(4), and (2) the net investment income was not “set aside” for an exempt purpose.

Robert J. Miller (Miller), petitioner’s executive vice president, has been employed by the organization since 1951. Miller is familiar with petitioner’s organizational and administrative structure as well as the publication procedures of the Scroll. He confirmed that in the years he has been employed by petitioner, the income from the Scroll Fund has not been used for anything except the publication of the Scroll and that there has been no projection for such funds to be used for anything else. Most of the material published in the Scroll is first filtered through the national office where Miller is employed, but some material is sent directly to the editor, who is located in Lubbock, Texas. Most of the material is sent in by individual members from the various chapters and alumni clubs.

Phillip R. Shriver (Shriver) was offered as petitioner’s expert witness.

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Phi Delta Theta Fraternity v. Commissioner
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90 T.C. No. 68, 90 T.C. 1033, 1988 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 65, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/phi-delta-theta-fraternity-v-commissioner-tax-1988.