Rosner v. War Contracts Price Adjustment Board

17 T.C. 445, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 82
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedSeptember 27, 1951
DocketDocket No. 781-R
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 17 T.C. 445 (Rosner v. War Contracts Price Adjustment Board) 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
Rosner v. War Contracts Price Adjustment Board, 17 T.C. 445, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 82 (tax 1951).

Opinion

OPINION.

Disney, Judge:

An issue preliminary to the question of excessive profits, if any, is whether the amount included in renegotiable income for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1945, for amounts accrued by Whitin at the close of 1943 and 1944 are subject to renegotiation. Petitioner’s contention, in general, is that the amounts accrued— $119,033 at the close of 1943 and $43,715 at the close of 1944 — were subjected to renegotiation for those years and may not again be renegotiated. Respondent’s answer to the contentions of petitioner is based, first, upon the theory that petitioner was on the cash basis of accounting for income tax purposes. Petitioner not only insists- that there is no proof in the record before us that he reported by the cash method but that assuming the fact, the Board had power to and did renegotiate the amounts in 1943 and 1944.

Petitioner declared in his 1943 return that it was prepared on the cash basis. This constitutes an admission of that fact. No evidence was offered to show that petitioner ever made application to the Commissioner for a change in that method of reporting income. Nothing appears in the returns for 1944 and 1945 to indicate that they were prepared on a basis other than cash. Cash was shown in the bilateral renegotiation agreement for 1943 as petitioner’s basis and nothing other than amounts received appears in the statement petitioner made to the Board of renegotiable income in 1944, which statement the Board found to be in accordance with his return for that year. The evidence is sufficient in our opinion to establish that petitioner was on the cash basis. In any event, without any evidence on the question we could assume that petitioner operated on that basis. Stanley C. Warrick, 20 B. T. A. 220.

Section 403 (a) (4) (B) of the Renegotiation Act of 1943 provides that:

The term “profits derived from contracts with the Departments and subcontracts” means the excess of the amount received or accrued under such contracts and subcontracts over the costs paid or incurred with respect thereto. Such costs shall be determined in accordance with the method of cost accounting regularly employed by the contractor in keeping his books, * * *

It is provided in section 403 (a) (9) that:

The terms “received or accrued” and “paid or incurred” shall be construed according to the method of accounting employed by the contractor or subcontractor in keeping his books.

These statutory provisions must be construed in the light of other provisions of the A.ct, permitting inclusion by consent in renegotiable income of amounts not otherwise includible.

Section 403 (c) (1) says that at the conference held with respect to renegotiation:

* * * the Board shall endeavor to make a final or other agreement with the contractor or subcontractor with respect to the elimination of excessive profits received or accrued, and with respect to such other matters related thereto as the Board deems advisable. Any such agreement, if made, may, with the consent of the contractor or subcontractor, also include provisions with respect to the elimination of excessive profits likely to be received or accrued. * * *

Another provision of the Act provides that:

For the purpose of this section the board may make final or other agreements with a contractor or subcontractor for the elimination of excessive profits and for the discharge of any liability for excessive profits under this section. Such agreements may contain such terms and conditions as the Board deems advisable. * * * [Section 403 (c) (4)]

Regulations promulgated under the Act provide that:

* * * Under ordinary circumstances a contractor will be renegotiated on the same basis as that used for the determination of his income for Federal income tax purposes * * * [Article 302]

Petitioner construes these statutory provisions to mean that the Board had power to subject to renegotiation for 1943 and 1944 by agreement with him the accruals made by Whitin at the close of those years and argues that the whole of the amounts were actually renegotiated and settled. We agree with him on his interpretation of the statute, that is, that the Board could agree with him on these matters, but for reasons to be set forth disagree with his conclusion on the scope and finality of the renegotiation proceedings each year and con-elude that they did not in fact agree to the extent he argues. First we will consider the proceedings held for the year 1943.

Petitioner and respondent agree that of the $119,0332 accrued by Whitin at the close of 1943, $54,372 was renegotiated by the bilateral agreement executed on July 6, 1945. The controversy in this respect concerns $64,661, the remainder of the $119,033, which $64,661 petitioner contends was renegotiated and settled for that year, though not eliminated.

As already pointed out, the statute contained authority for renegotiation of the entire amount by agreement and the proof here is that members of the Board were aware of the statutory authority. The turning point is whether the power to renegotiate by agreement was exercised by the parties concerned, above the $54,372, out of the $119,033. A conclusion on the point requires us to resolve a conflict in the evidence.

Petitioner’s position on brief is that the evidence establishes that the amount of $64,661 represents an allowance made by the Board out of the accrual to compensate him for absence of security for the liability of Whitin to pay the amount, for lack of provisions for payment of interest thereon, and for impossibility to compute his tax credit. Petitioner testified that the amount represents an allowance for such reasons. A member of the Board, William F. Delafield, testified that the amount of $54,372 was computed solely on orders outstanding on June 30, 1943 (when, in effect, the contract was amended) and considering deliveries made. There were logical grounds for an agreement to include only so much of the accrual as represented orders obtained before and outstanding on June 30, 1943, as were delivered during the remainder of 1943. Under the agreement of January 2, 1942, petitioner earned his commission upon the acceptance of the order by Whitin and the amount was payable in the year in which delivery was made under the order. Accordingly, without amendment of that contract, commissions on deliveries made at any time during 1943 on orders outstanding June 30,1943, were payable within that year. This contractual right to commissions petitioner surrendered on July 1, 1943, in favor of payment only after delivered material was paid for, and then in ten equal annual installments.

Petitioner having, by the amendment of July 1,1943, deferred until after 1943 a contractual right to receive payment in 1943, there was ground for treatment of the amount in the renegotiation agreement as having been constructively received. Delafield testified that the theory of constructive receipt by petitioner was the basis for the computation. The petitioner contends in effect that Delafield’s computation is meaningless.

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Related

Seroussi v. Commissioner
1963 T.C. Memo. 233 (U.S. Tax Court, 1963)
Hooper Constr. Co. v. Renegotiation Board
35 T.C. 837 (U.S. Tax Court, 1961)
Park Sherman Co. v. United States
29 T.C. 175 (U.S. Tax Court, 1957)
Edell v. United States
28 T.C. 601 (U.S. Tax Court, 1957)
Stoner Mfg. Corp. v. Secretary of War
21 T.C. 200 (U.S. Tax Court, 1953)
Stoner Manufacturing Corp. v. Secretary of War
21 T.C. 200 (U.S. Tax Court, 1953)
Rosner v. War Contracts Price Adjustment Board
17 T.C. 445 (U.S. Tax Court, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 T.C. 445, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 82, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rosner-v-war-contracts-price-adjustment-board-tax-1951.