Rosenberg v. Commissioner

36 T.C. 716, 1961 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJuly 27, 1961
DocketDocket Nos. 75781-75783
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 36 T.C. 716 (Rosenberg 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
Rosenberg v. Commissioner, 36 T.C. 716, 1961 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107 (tax 1961).

Opinion

Tietjens, Judge:

The Commissioner determined deficiencies in income tax for 1952 as follows:

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The sole issue presented is whether under the circumstances here present, the proceeds realized from the sale of preferred stock in 1952 resulted in capital gain or ordinary income.

FINDINGS OF FACT.

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are incorporated herein by reference.

Henry A. Rosenberg and Ruth B. Rosenberg, Alvin Thalheimer and Fanny B. Thalheimer, and Jacob Blaustein and Hilda K. Blaustein were, respectively, husband and wife in the year 1952 and each couple filed a joint income tax return for that year with the director of internal revenue at Baltimore, Maryland. Henry A. Bosenberg died on February 23,1955, and Ruth B. Rosenberg was appointed adminis-tratrix c.t.a. of his estate on March 29, 1955. Fanny B. Thalheimer died on May 28, 1957. Alvin Thalheimer, Herbert Thalheimer, Jacob Blaustein, and Ruth B. Rosenberg were appointed executors of her estate on June 21,1957. Ruth B. Rosenberg, Fanny B. Thalheimer, and Jacob Blaustein were sisters and brother and are sometimes hereinafter referred to as petitioners.

American Trading and Production Corporation, hereinafter designated as Atapco, is a corporation organized in 1931 under the laws of the State of Maryland. In 1951 and 1952 Atapco was engaged in the oil industry. Its interests included the marine transportation of petroleum products and the acquisition, exploration, and development of crude oil and gas properties. Also, Atapco and the Blaustein family together owned between 25 and 30 percent of the stock of Pan American Petroleum and Transport Company, the majority of which was owned by Standard Oil of Indiana. In addition, Atapco had stockholdings in the Crown Central Petroleum Corporation.

On December 26,1951, the authorized stock of Atapco consisted of 30,000 shares of no-par common stock of which 22,000 were outstanding. These shares were held as follows:

Stockholders Shares
Jacob Blaustein, trustee_5, 500
Henrietta Blaustein_1, 600
Jacob Blaustein_3, 597
Fanny B. Tbalbeimer_3, 917
Rutb B. Rosenberg_3, 917
In treasury_3, 469
22, 000

The 5,500 shares held by Jacob Blaustein, as trustee, were in trust for the benefit of his wife and their three children. Henrietta Blaustein is the mother of petitioners.

In 1951 Earl F. Steinmami, counsel for Atapco and the Blaustein family, contacted a broker in Baltimore with reference to doing some financing for Atapco. The broker referred him to the First Boston Corporation. In the late spring of 1951, Steinmann and John W. Cable who also represented Atapco and the Blausteins met with Charles Glavin, a vice president of First Boston, to discuss the financial arrangements of Atapco and its stockholders. Steinmann at that time was contemplating making a recommendation that a public market be created in the common stock of Atapco. Glavin pointed out the problems involved with making an offering of that type, such as the registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission which would include a complete disclosure, the cost and expense, as well as tbe substantial sacrifice in values that generally accompanies an initial offering by a company unknown to the public. The idea of creating a public market was subsequently abandoned.

Steinmann, thereafter, disclosed to Glavin that petitioners were considering replacing the outstanding common stock of Atapco with several classes of stock. Glavin was asked to advise them on the terms of a first preferred stock which would be salable by the holders thereof. The objective was to create a good-quality preferred stock which would be accepted by institutional investors. Atapco did not need additional outside capital in 1951 as it had sufficient earnings and capital on hand.

With respect to the contemplated preferred stock, Glavin recommended an adequate sinking fund or mandatory retirement provision, limitations on the amount of preferred stock and funded indebtedness of the corporation, limitations on the dividends of junior stocks, restrictions on the sale of the Pan American and Crown Central shares held by Atapco, and certain other terms which are normally contained in a good-quality preferred stock. Jacob Blaustein objected to the proposed limitations relating to the funded indebtedness and the disposition of the Pan American and Crown Central shares. He was of the opinion that these two limitations were not important as Atapco had no intention of selling either the Pan American or Crown Central shares and there was no need for such a debt limitation. Although Glavin thought the proposed preferred stock would be salable, he felt that the inclusion of the two limitations would make the issue more attractive.

On December 26, 1951, the directors and stockholders of Atapco approved amendments to its charter providing for an authorized capital of 300,000 shares of class A first preferred stock with a $10 par value, 300,000 shares of class B first preferred stock with a $10 par value, 1 million shares of second preferred stock with a $10 par value, and 200,000 shares of common stock without par value. The amendments also provided for the exchange of 16 shares of class B first preferred stock, 32 shares of second preferred stock, and 10 shares of the new common stock for each share of common stock outstanding. On December 27,1951, the articles of amendment were filed with and approved by the State Tax Commission.

The directors of Atapco approved the new stock certificates and authorized the issuance of the new shares pursuant to the articles of amendment on December 27,1951, and the new shares were duly issued to the stockholders.

On December 27,1951, immediately after the change in capital structure, the stockholders of Atapco and their respective holdings were as follows:

The holders of class B first preferred shares were entitled to cumulative dividends at the rate of 5 percent, payable quarterly. The shares were redeemable in whole or in part, at the option of the corporation, for a sum equal to all unpaid dividends accumulated to date plus $10.30 per share if redeemed on or before January 1, 1955; $10.20 per share if redeemed on or before January 1, 1958; $10.10 per share if redeemed on or before January 1, 1961; and $10 per share if redeemed later. On default in the payment of four consecutive quarterly dividends, the holders of the first preferred shares were entitled to elect one-third of the board of directors.

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Rosenberg v. Commissioner
36 T.C. 716 (U.S. Tax Court, 1961)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
36 T.C. 716, 1961 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rosenberg-v-commissioner-tax-1961.