Rothenberg v. United States

233 F. Supp. 864, 14 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5759, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8548
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedAugust 21, 1964
DocketNo. W-2882
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 233 F. Supp. 864 (Rothenberg v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rothenberg v. United States, 233 F. Supp. 864, 14 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5759, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8548 (D. Kan. 1964).

Opinion

WESLEY E. BROWN, District Judge.

This is a civil action brought by plaintiffs, S. L. and Helen Rothenberg, against defendant United States, for the recovery of income taxes in the principal amount of $9,794.06, and assessed interest paid thereon, together with statutory interest on both sums, to be computed at the rate of six per cent (6'%) per annum from December 29, 1961, which sums plaintiffs allege were wrongfully assessed for the calendar year 1958. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 1346(a) (1) and 28 U.S.C.A. § 1402(a) (1). Trial was had to the Court without jury.

The material facts have been stipulated by the parties and are briefly set out only to clarify our views.

The plaintiffs are husband and wife and filed their joint 1958 federal income tax return on a cash basis. They have two adopted children, Elaine Sue, born December 4, 1946, and Stanley Elliott, born October 31, 1936. Elaine Sue was a minor on January 2, 1958; Stanley Elliott Rothenbei’g reached the age of 21 subsequent to April 23, 1956 but had been granted the rights of majority prior thereto by a district court of Sedgwick County, Kansas.

On April 23, 1956 Stanley E. Rothen-berg as grantor created two trusts, one of which was named the Stanley Trust, and the other named the Susie Trust. Both trusts were irrevocable, and both named S. Leo Rothenberg, Helen Rothen-berg, and Harlan R. Kamen as the first group of trustees. Stanley was the beneficiary of the Stanley Trust, and Susie (Elaine Sue) was the beneficiary of the other. The original corpus of both trusts consisted of certain real and personal property which was previously owned by Stanley, i. e., 83% shares of common stock of Kamen Wiping Materials, Inc., and an undivided % fee simple interest in the improved realty utilized by the corporation. Prior to the creation of the trusts, the fee title to the real estate and improvements was vested in S. L. Rothenberg, Helen Rothenberg, and Stanley as tenants in common, each owning an undivided %; and the ownership of the issued and outstanding common capital stock of the corporation, was as follows:

S. L. Rothenberg 83% shares

Helen Rothenberg 83% shares

Stanley Rothenberg 83% shares

In January 1958, the Susie Trust and the Stanley Trust joined with the plaintiffs and sold the improved realty to Kamen Wiping Materials, Inc., at its appraised valuation of $55,000.00.

At the time of the sale of the real estate to Kamen Wiping Materials, Inc., .the issued and outstanding common capital stock of the corporation consisting of 250 shares of common stock, par value of $100.00 each, was registered on the corporate books as follows:

In addition to the stipulated facts the plaintiffs introduced certain testimony to which we have hereinafter referred. This testimony was admitted, but it is not essential for the conclusions which we reach.

[866]*866Stanley Rothenberg testified that his reasons for establishing the two trusts were that he was about to be drafted at the time and the possibility of injury or death while in the military coupled with his desire to care for his sister led him to create the trusts. S. L. Rothen-berg testified that the motivating reason causing the trustees to dispose of the trust interests in the property was that the trustees felt that trust assets should not continue to be comingled with assets of the company. Mr. S. L. Rothenberg did admit that after the sale to the corporation, it depreciated the building on its returns.

At the close of trial, defendant moved to dismiss and plaintiffs moved for directed verdict.

The trial was had on the basis of a Pre-Trial Order which contained a stipulated set of facts. The Pre-Trial Order stated the issue of law before the court as “whether 41%rds shares of common capital stock of Kamen Wiping Materials, Inc., held by the Susie Trust under an irrevocable trust agreement for the benefit of the sole beneficiary, Elaine Sue Rothenberg, a minor, was ‘owned’ by Elaine Sue Rothenberg so as to be attributable to her parents, within the meaning of Section 1239 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.”

Defendant asserts that beneficial ownership is contemplated by Int.Rev.Code of 1954, § 1239, arguing that the Commissioner has so interpreted the Code. Treas.Reg. § 1.1239-1 (1957) states:

“For the purpose of Section 1239, a corporation is controlled when more than 80 percent in value of all outstanding stock of the corporation is beneficially owned by the taxpayer, his spouse, and his minor children and grandchildren.” (Emphasis added)

Under the Regulation, the shares held for the benefit of Elaine Sue Rothenberg, minor, by the Susie Trust would be “owned” by Susie and thus more than 80% of the stock would be attributable to the plaintiff taxpayers. Consequently, the money realized from the 1958 sale to the corporation would necessarily be treated as ordinary income and not long term capital gain. Accordingly, the taxes collected which form the basis for this lawsuit would have been validly collected.

The Fourth Circuit, in Mitchell v. Commissioner, 300 F.2d 533 (4th Cir. 1962), 47 Minn.L.Rev. 493 (1963), held however that beneficial ownership of stock is not to be counted under Int.Rev. Code of 1954, § 1239. In so doing, the court states that the Regulation “conflicts with the design of the section as revealed by its structure and history. It seeks to extend the coverage of section 1239 into an area beyond that sanctioned by Congress”. Id. at 538. We concur. We agree with the analysis of legislative history and congressional intent utilized by the court in Mitchell; therefore, that analysis will not be repeated here.

Defendant here argues that the Treas. Reg. should be given additional weight because it had been in effect for over a year when Section 1239 was re-enacted without substantial change by Congress into the Int.Rev.Code of 1954. Further the section was technically amended in 1958 without any substantive change (See 72 Stat.1645 (1959)). The argument is that the failure of Congress to substantially change the section inferentially shows that the Treas.Reg. is not inconsistent therewith and that Congress adopts the interpretation of the Commissioner. The argument has been criticized on the basis of the weak assumption that Congress was actually aware of the Regulation at the time of re-enactment. See, e. g., 1 Davis, Administrative Law § 5.07 (1958); Griswold, A Summary of the Regulations Problem, 54 Harv.L.Rev. 398 (1941).

Further, the Supreme Court has indicated that the re-enactment rule should not be utilized absent evidence that Congress had actual knowledge of the Regulation at re-enactment time. See United States v. Calamaro, 354 U.S. 351, 77 S.Ct. 1138, 1 L.Ed.2d 1394 (1957); cf. [867]*867Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co., 348 U.S. 426, 75 S.Ct. 473, 99 L.Ed. 483 (1955). In Calamaro the Regulation at issue had been in effect for “only three years.” 354 U.S. at 359, 77 S.Ct. at 1143, 1 L.Ed.2d at 1400.

The Regulation at bar had been in effect considerably less than three years at the time of re-enactment into the Int. Rev.Code op 1954.

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233 F. Supp. 864, 14 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5759, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rothenberg-v-united-states-ksd-1964.