Tecumseh Coal Corp. v. Commissioner

17 T.C. 636, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 58
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 10, 1951
DocketDocket No. 30746
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 17 T.C. 636 (Tecumseh Coal Corp. 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
Tecumseh Coal Corp. v. Commissioner, 17 T.C. 636, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 58 (tax 1951).

Opinions

OPINION.

Kern, Judge:

This proceeding is here on a motion by respondent to dismiss for lack of proper prosecution, in so far as it relates to deficiencies in income tax for 1942, 1943, and 1944, in the aggregate amount of $171,213.76. The motion also asks the Court to enter an order finding deficiencies in income tax in the amounts determined by respondent.

The notice of deficiency and partial disallowance of section 722 relief, dated June 30,1950, determined income tax deficiencies, as above set forth, in the aggregate amount of $171,213.76, and further determined that petitioner was entitled to some relief under section 722 of the Internal'Eevenue Code, but not in the full amount claimed. Petitioner’s excess profits tax for the years in question was determined to be as follows:

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The deficiency of $13,616.30 in excess profits tax for 1943 results from the fact that petitioner deferred payment of part of the excess profits tax under section 710 (a) (5) pending final determination of the section 722 claim.

Neither the petition nor the “amendment to petition” contains any assignment of error or supporting allegations of fact with respect to the deficiencies in income tax as such. Petitioner, on brief, concedes that “there are no ‘standard issues’ in the case whatsoever.” The “amendment to petition” contains the following:

The deficiencies in income tax asserted for the years 1942, 1943 and 1944 in the statutory notice of deficiency should not be assessed prior to a final determination of the issue relating to the constructive average base period net income under Section 722 (b) (4) and (6), of the Internal Revenue Code inasmuch as the deficiencies in question result entirely from the partial allowances, made by the Commissioner in the statutory notice of deficiency, of petitioner’s application for relief and claims for refund filed under section 722 and covering the years 1942, 1943 and 1944.
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The income tax deficiencies involved in this cause result entirely from the partial allowances made by the Commissioner of petitioner’s applications for relief and claims for refund filed under section 722. This is due to the method of computation of income taxes for the calendar years 1942, 1943 and 1944 prescribed in the Internal Revenue Code. Briefly, and insofar as pertinent hereto, the normal tax and surtax are computed by applying the normal tax and surtax rates to the excess of the amount of net income (i. e., gross income less deductions) over the amount of the credit'for income subject to excess profits tax (i. e., the adjusted excess profits net income). The increase in the amount of income subject to normal tax and surtax each year in this cause arises solely from the decrease, made by the Commissioner, in the amount of the credit for income subject to excess profits tax. The extent of such decrease is measured by the sum of (a) the increase in the amount of excess profits credit, recommended by the Commissioner, and (b) a related elimination of an addition for 50% of interest on borrowed capital in the computation of excess profits net income. The latter elimination was required automatically in view of the allowance by the Commissioner of an excess profits credit based on a constructive average base period net income in lieu of the excess profits credit based on invested capital used in petitioner’s excess profits tax return for each year. The adjustments made by the Commissioner for the so-called standard issues result in changes in excess profits taxes only and do not affect the amounts of incomes subject to normal tax and surtax since any adjustment to net income is offset by a change of like amounts in the credit for income subject to excess profits tax. There would not be any deficiencies in income tax for the years 1942, 1943 and 1944 computed on any basis without reflecting the benefits of section 722. The amounts of the deficiencies in income taxes for such years are dependent completely on the final determination of the issue under section 722 of the Code. Therefore, the final determination of such deficiencies for such years should be made only in conjunction with the determination under section 722.

As the case is thus postured, we are confronted with the situation of a petitioner admitting that there is no “standard issue” tax question arising from the income tax deficiency, and admitting that at least the amount of income tax determined by respondent is due, but contending that, upon favorable disposition of the litigated claim for section 722 relief, although there would be a further income tax deficiency, there would necessarily be an excess profits refund sufficiently large to offset all such income tax deficiencies, and it would therefore be inequitable to permit respondent now to collect the present deficiency in income tax.

We believe that the issue presented by respondent’s motion must be resolved in favor of respondent under the rationale of Uni-Term Stevedoring Co., 3 T. C. 917, and Ideal Packing Co., 9 T. C. 846. See Mutual Lumber Co., 16 T. C. 370.

In Uni-Term Stevedoring Co., supra, we said at p. 920:

Furthermore, no good purpose could be served by retaining jurisdiction in this proceeding pending the action of the Commissioner on the claim for relief under 722.6

In Ideal Packing Co., supra, respondent mailed the taxpayer combined notices of deficiency in excess profits tax, and of disallowance of a claim for refund under section 722. The petition there filed presented as its only claim of error the respondent’s determination that petitioner had not established its right to relief under section 722. There was no claim that the respondent erred in computing the correct amount of excess profits tax for the years in question “without the benefit of section 722.” Respondent’s motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute, in so far as it related to the deficiency, was granted. We said:

* * * The general scheme, as we have pointed out in the cases cited, is that the taxpayer must show that the tax computed without benefit of section 722 is excessive and discriminatory and that the applicability of section 722 is to be raised only in conjunction with a claim for refund. Also, we have noted that the only effect, if any, resulting from the application of section 722 is a reduction of the tax imposed by subchapter B and computed without the benefit of section 722. It seems apparent, therefore, that, unless through a petition properly filed a txpayer raises some error on the part of the respondent in computing a deficiency under subchapter E without the benefit of section 722, there is no proper ground or basis for denying the respondent the right to assess and collect the deficiency which should have been reported and paid by the taxpayer on its return, merely because the taxpayer does have pending a petition properly invoking the applicability of section 722. See and compare Pohatcong Hosiery Mills, Inc. v. Commissioner, 162 Fed.

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Related

Green Spring Dairy, Inc. v. Commissioner
18 T.C. 929 (U.S. Tax Court, 1952)
Tecumseh Coal Corp. v. Commissioner
17 T.C. 636 (U.S. Tax Court, 1951)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
17 T.C. 636, 1951 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 58, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tecumseh-coal-corp-v-commissioner-tax-1951.