Santa Fe Drilling Co. v. Riddell

217 F. Supp. 630, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1549, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9724
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedApril 19, 1963
DocketCiv. No. 272-60-PH
StatusPublished

This text of 217 F. Supp. 630 (Santa Fe Drilling Co. v. Riddell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Santa Fe Drilling Co. v. Riddell, 217 F. Supp. 630, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1549, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9724 (S.D. Cal. 1963).

Opinion

TAVARES, District Judge.

At the times material to this action, plaintiff, Santa Fe Drilling Company, a California corporation, was primarily engaged in the business of contract oil well drilling operations in the United States and in foreign countries. It kept its books of account and filed its Federal income tax returns on a calendar year basis.

In July, 1954, pursuant to a contract, plaintiff commenced oil well drilling operations in Australia on a fee basis which drilling operations continued for more than one year. Australia imposed an income tax on the net income of both foreign and domestic corporations derived from the conduct of a trade or business within Australia. This tax was imposed on a fiscal year basis beginning on July 1 of each calendar year and ending on June 30 of the succeeding year.

In September, 1955, plaintiff filed its income tax return with Australia for the fiscal year ending June 30,1955, showing a tax owing on its income to Australia, which tax plaintiff paid on June 4, 1956.

On June 15, 1955, plaintiff filed its Federal income tax return for the calendar year 1954, showing a tax owing on its income and subsequently paid such tax. Plaintiff did not claim on said return any credit against said tax on account of income taxes imposed by Australia or any deduction on said return on account of such taxes. Thereafter, the Internal Revenue Service made a reassessment of plaintiff’s return' for the calendar year 1954, determined a deficiency by virtue of disallowing certain deductions taken as expenses, determined that plaintiff was not entitled to a credit against said assessment on account of income taxes imposed by Australia and determined that plaintiff was liable for interest on said deficiency. Plaintiff paid the assessed deficiency and interest.

Plaintiff duly filed a claim for refund, contending that it was entitled to a refund of a portion of the tax and interest paid because of the determination that [632]*632it was not entitled to a credit for a portion of the income taxes imposed by Australia.1 This claim was rejected and this action for such refund followed.

Until September, 1960, 26 U.S.C. § 901 (a) provided:

“If the taxpayer chooses to have the benefits of this subpart, the tax imposed by this chapter shall, subject to the limitation of section 904,2 be credited with the amounts provided in the applicable paragraph of subsection (b) * *
Subsection (b) provides:
“ * * * the following amounts shall be allowed as the credit under subsection (a):
“(1) * * * In the case of * * * a domestic corporation, the amount of any income * * * taxes paid or accrued during the taxable year to any foreign county * -x * .” 3

26 U.S.C. § 43, effective until August 16, 1954, provided as follows:

“The deductions and credits * * * provided for in this chapter shall be taken for the taxable year in which ‘paid or accrued’ or ‘paid or incurred’, dependent upon the method of accounting upon the basis of which the net income is computed, unless in order to clearly reflect the income the deductions or credits should be taken as of a different period. * * *”

26 U.S.C. § 461(a), which amended Section 43, effective August 16, 1954* provides as follows:

“The amount of any deduction or credit allowed by this subtitle shall-be taken for the taxable year which is the proper taxable year under the-method of accounting used in computing taxable income.” 4

26 U.S.C. § 7701(a) provides:

“The terms ‘paid or incurred’ and' ‘paid or accrued’ shall be construed according to the method of accounting upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A.” 5

Former 26 U.S.C. § 41 permitted, and present 26 U.S.C. § 446(c) permits, a taxpayer to compute taxable income under various methods of accounting, provided that the method used clearly reflects income. In light of the rules set out, post, governing the accrual of foreign taxes for tax purposes, any method of accounting which did not accrue such, taxes in accordance with those rules, would not clearly reflect income.

The income taxes imposed upon plaintiff by Australia for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1954, and ending June-30, 1955, were paid on June 4, 1956. Thus, plaintiff is entitled to prevail in this action if the portion of the income taxes imposed against it by Australia for that fiscal year for which plaintiff seeks a credit accrued during the calendar year-1954 but only if it accrued during that calendar year. Therefore, the only ques[633]*633tion involved is whether such taxes “accrued” during the calendar year 1954.

The following general principles apply "to the accrual of income and deductions for tax purposes:

“Items may and must be accrued as income when the events occur which fix the amount due and determine the liability to pay. It is commonly stated that an item should be accrued when (1) all the events have occurred which fix the amount of the claim and determine the question of liability; (2) the amount is readily ascertainable; and (3) the liability therefor is determined rather than ■contingent. But the exact amount need not be determined; it is sufficient that ail the facts upon which "the calculation depends have become ■fixed. Then the computation may be unknown, but it is not unknowable. Where the right arises within the taxable year to receive income and the taxpayer can, from its own books and accounts, calculate and ascertain the amount of the income with reasonable accuracy, the income is to be accrued in that year. * * * “The same general principle applies to deductions. Where, for example, losses are reasonably certain in fact and ascertainable in amount they may be deducted, in certain circum■stances, before they are absolutely realized. But the accrual method of accounting does not permit a loss to be anticipated while the transaction is still open. Whether a loss is deductible in the year in which a breach of contract occurs depends on all the facts in the particular case. Where the approximate amount of damages is reasonably predictable, and negotiations for settlement have been commenced within the year and completed soon after its close, and the liability can be reasonably estimated and is accrued on the books, the accrual within the year of breach may be permitted. Where the amount of damages is wholly unpredictable in the year of the breach of contract, and depends in large part on the course of future events, no accrual will be permitted in that year. * * * ”6

These principles also apply to the accrual of taxes for tax purposes:

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Bluebook (online)
217 F. Supp. 630, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1549, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9724, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/santa-fe-drilling-co-v-riddell-casd-1963.