Siewert v. United States

500 F. Supp. 1076, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5774, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13193
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedJuly 24, 1980
DocketCiv. A. No. 5-79-47
StatusPublished

This text of 500 F. Supp. 1076 (Siewert v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Siewert v. United States, 500 F. Supp. 1076, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5774, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13193 (N.D. Tex. 1980).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WOODWARD, Chief Judge.

The above case came on before the court for trial without a jury on the 24th day of July, 1980 with all parties and attorneys in attendance. After hearing and considering the evidence, the briefs and arguments of the counsel, the court is of the opinion that judgment should be entered for the defendant. This memorandum opinion shall constitute the court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law, and further incorporated as a part of such findings of fact and conclusions of law, and hereby adopted by the court, are as set forth and attached in Exhibit A. Further, the stipulations of the parties contained in the pre-trial order shall be part of the court’s findings of fact.

Plaintiffs, husband and wife, filed joint tax returns for the years 1973 and 1974 and deducted as expenses for carrying on a trade or business the tuition and related expenses incurred by Dr. Milo D. Siewert while attending a medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The undisputed facts are that Dr. Siewert was licensed as a chiropractor and practiced that profession in Amarillo, Texas from 1956 until 1972. From 1972 through 1976 he attended the Autonomous University of Guadalajara Medical School in Guadalajara, Mexico where he pursued and obtained a degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the years 1972 and 1973, Dr. Siewert leased his clinical equipment and sold his entire clinic, buildings, land, and equipment in 1973 except for one chiropractic manipulation table. Upon receiving his degree in medicine, he returned to his practice as a chiropractor but he did not actually practice this profession from 1972 through 1976 but instead was a student engaged in the pursuit of a degree of Doctor of Medicine.

The studies pursued by Dr. Siewert in Mexico from 1972 through 1976 qualified him to enter a new trade or business. The court agrees that the practice of medicine is a separate and distinct trade and business from the practice as a chiropractor. The statutes governing the licensing of these two professions are separate in the State of Texas. Therefore, under the regulations, such expenses which qualify a person to enter a new trade or business are not deductible. Dr. Siewert has contended that it was his intent to use his training as a medical doctor in the furtherance of his profession as a chiropractor. However, the subjective matter of intent is no longer the criterion under the regulations and is irrelevant on this point.

Further, these expenses are not deductible because Dr. Siewert was not engaged in the trade, business, or profession as a chiropractor at the time they were incurred, but rather he was a full-time student at the medical school. For such expenses to be deducted as a business expense of a trade or profession, they must have been incurred while one is engaged in such trade or profession, and it is uncontroverted that Dr. Siewert was not in the practice as a chiropractor during the years in question.

The plaintiffs’ reliance on Furner v. C. I. R., 393 F.2d 292 (2d Cir. 1968), is misplaced. There the school teacher was allowed such deductions because the evidence showed that it was not unusual for teachers to do such graduate study. The evidence is insufficient in this case for this court to find that there was any custom or practice for chiropractors to suspend their practice of chiropractic for a period of four years and to [1078]*1078enroll in and study for a degree in medicine, which is a separate trade or profession from that of a chiropractor.

EXHIBIT A

EXHIBIT A TO THE MEMORANDUM OPINION OF THE COURT DATED JULY 24, 1980 IN CIVIL ACTION NO. CA-5-79-47, MILO D. SIEWERT, et ux. v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW ARE HERE ADOPTED AS THE COURT’S FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW:

Findings of Fact

1. This is an action brought by the plaintiffs seeking a tax refund in the amount of $2,402.30 paid as income taxes for the years 1973 and 1974, plus interest and costs.

2. The controversy here concerns the deductibility of certain expenses incurred by the plaintiff, Dr. Milo D. Siewert, in the pursuit of a degree as a Doctor of Medicine. Plaintiff incurred these expenses while attending the Medical School at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, during the years 1972 through 1976. Plaintiff graduated from the University of Guadalajara with an M.D. and returned to Texas in 1976. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Siewert was engaged in the practice of chiropractic in Amarillo, Texas, during the years 1956 until 1972.

3. During the years that Milo Siewert attended medical school, he leased the equipment that he had formerly used in his chiropractic clinic and, finally, in 1974, while he was still a student in medical school, he sold the equipment in his chiropractic practice for $107,000.

4. For the periods of time that Milo Siewert was attending medical school in Guadalajara, he claimed on his 1973 and 1974 federal income tax returns deductions in the amounts of $6,565 and $5,616, respectively, claiming such amounts as deductions for educational expenses. During these same years, Milo Siewert did not engage in the trade or business of chiropractic, but, instead, was a full-time student. Although plaintiff claims he engaged in the practice of chiropractic during breaks in his schooling, he states that he received no remuneration or fees for his services. After completion of his education, he returned to Amarillo and has since applied for licensure as a medical doctor in the State of Texas.

5. Upon audit, the Internal Revenue Service determined that Plaintiff Milo Siewert was not entitled to claim educational expenses for his medical school education. Accordingly, these deductions were disallowed and, as a result, the plaintiffs were assessed a tax deficiency for the amounts of $893.98 and $1,508.32 for the years 1973 and 1974, respectively. This assessment was properly made on February 15, 1977. The plaintiffs paid the full amounts of the deficiencies on February 24, 1977, and subsequently filed timely claims for refund for the years 1973 and 1974. These claims were disallowed by the Internal Revenue Service by letter dated March 9, 1979. Subsequently, the plaintiffs timely filed this suit for refund of taxes.

6. Any conclusion of law which may more properly be deemed a finding of fact is hereby so found.

Conclusions of Law

1. This Court has jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1346(a).

2. The plaintiffs are not entitled to an educational expense deduction for the cost of the medical school education for the reason that the expenses of Milo Siewert’s medical school education qualified him to engage in a new trade or business.

3. Educational expenses may be deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses under Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C.) if they meet the specific criteria set forth in Treasury Regulations on Income Tax (1954 Code) § 1.162-5 (26 C.F.R.), as amended in 1967. This Regulation provides that as a general rule educational expenditures will [1079]

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Bluebook (online)
500 F. Supp. 1076, 46 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5774, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/siewert-v-united-states-txnd-1980.