Portland Golf Club v. Commissioner

1988 T.C. Memo. 76, 55 T.C.M. 212, 1988 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 102
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedFebruary 24, 1988
DocketDocket No. 13436-85.
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1988 T.C. Memo. 76 (Portland Golf Club 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
Portland Golf Club v. Commissioner, 1988 T.C. Memo. 76, 55 T.C.M. 212, 1988 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 102 (tax 1988).

Opinion

PORTLAND GOLF CLUB, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Portland Golf Club v. Commissioner
Docket No. 13436-85.
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1988-76; 1988 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 102; 55 T.C.M. (CCH) 212; T.C.M. (RIA) 88076;
February 24, 1988.
Allen B. Bush, for the petitioner. 1
Gerald W. Douglas, for the respondent.

SCOTT

MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION

SCOTT, Judge: Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioner's income taxes for its fiscal years ending September 30, 1980, and September 30, 1981, in the amounts of $ 1,828 and $ 3,470, respectively. The issue for decision is whether petitioner, a social club exempt from tax under section 501(c)(7), 2 may offset against unrelated business taxable income from interest, an amount which represents the excess of*105 its deductions over receipts from sales of food and beverages to nonmembers.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly:

Petitioner, the Portland Golf Club, is and at all times relevant to the issues involved in this case, has been a nonprofit Oregon corporation exempt from Federal income tax under the provisions of section 501(c)(7). At the time of filing its petition herein, petitioner's principal office was located in Portland, Oregon. For each of its fiscal years ending September 30, 1980, and September 30, 1981, petitioner filed a Form 990-T, Exempt Organization Business Income Tax Return, and a Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. 3

*106 Since 1914, petitioner has owned and operated a private golf and country club with a golf course, restaurant and bar, swimming pool, and tennis courts for the benefit of its members, their guests, and nonmembers on a restricted basis. Petitioner's purpose is, and during the years here in issue was, to operate a golf club, restaurant, bar and party facility, swimming pool, and tennis courts for the benefit of its members and their guests. Petitioner's exempt activities are the provision of entertainment, dining, and athletic recreation to its members.

During the years in issue petitioner also conducted certain nonexempt activities. During these years petitioner's nonexempt function income was derived from investments which resulted in interest income and from the sales of food and beverages to nonmembers.

Petitioner's members are allowed to sponsor guests, friends, and organizations who wish to use petitioner's facilities and services for private parties, receptions, or catering. Petitioner's nonmember food and beverage income resulted when these activities did not meet the requirements of section 512 of the Income Tax Regs. and respondent's ruling thereunder. Petitioner's*107 nonmember food and beverage income from these activities constitutes unrelated business taxable income.

Petitioner incurred variable expenses such as food and beverage costs, payroll, and other expenses in connection with its nonmember sales of food and beverages, as well as overhead and other fixed expenses. Petitioner's overhead and other fixed expenses for the sale of food and beverages to nonmembers consisted of items such as administration, taxes, insurance, and depreciation (hereinafter "fixed expenses"). These fixed expenses would be incurred by petitioner whether petitioner served nonmembers or not. On its returns' Forms 990-T, petitioner has consistently deducted an allocable portion of overhead and fixed expenses from nonmember income in accordance with Prop. Income Tax. Regs. section 1.512(a)-(3)(b)(5). 4 Since 1975, through and including the years here in issue, petitioner has used an allocation formula based on the ratio that nonmember sales bore to total sales to compute the amount of overhead and fixed expenses allocated to and deducted from petitioner's unrelated business taxable income on its returns. Such method of allocation is reasonable. 5 For the years*108 at issue an allocable portion of petitioner's overhead costs was properly attributable and directly connected to the generation of nonmember income. Using this method of reporting, petitioner has, since 1975 and up to its fiscal year 1984, incurred losses for tax purposes from the sale of food and beverages to nonmembers and has reported these losses on its From 990-T returns. Many of petitioner's expenses are fixed expenses relating to maintenance and minimum staff requirements of operating its facilities.

Petitioner's prices for the sales of food and beverages to nonmembers were in excess of the prices of food and beverages served to members. Petitioner, in determining the prices to be charged for food and beverages to be served to nonmembers attempted to arrive at amounts which would result in the amount received from these sales being in excess of all variable costs directly related to such sales. The variable costs*109 considered were items such as the food costs, supplies, beverage costs and labor costs. Petitioner priced sales of food and beverages to nonmembers so that the cost of food was about 30 percent to 33 percent of the selling price of the meal.

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Bluebook (online)
1988 T.C. Memo. 76, 55 T.C.M. 212, 1988 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/portland-golf-club-v-commissioner-tax-1988.