Thompson v. United States

209 F. Supp. 530, 10 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5694, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3540
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedAugust 17, 1962
DocketCiv. A. No. 2881
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 209 F. Supp. 530 (Thompson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thompson v. United States, 209 F. Supp. 530, 10 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5694, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3540 (E.D. Tex. 1962).

Opinion

SHEEHY, Chief Judge.

This is a suit by taxpayers, I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, and by I. W. Thompson, as Trustee for Selected Minority Funds, for recovery of income taxes, penalties and interest in the aggregate amount of $171,665.65. Plaintiffs allege and contend the Internal Revenue Service wrongfully assessed against and collected from them for the years 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955 and 1956. The case, both as to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and on the merits, was submitted on a Stipulation of Facts and written arguments and briefs.

I. W. Thompson is a farmer 82 years of age who lives in the rural community of Van, Van Zandt County, Texas. His wife, Charlie Thompson, is approximately 77 years of age and has been substantially blind since prior to 1949. The Thompsons have no children and live now, and have throughout the tax years in question, very simple, frugal and Spartan lives. Both were under the usual disabilities of their ages throughout the tax periods involved.

On September 19, 1949, I. W. Thompson, referring to himself as Donor, executed a trust instrument establishing a trust known as “Selected Minority Funds,” hereinafter referred to as the [532]*532Trust, and named himself as Trustee.1 The trust instrument is duly recorded in Volume 508, Page 595, of the Deed Records of Van Zandt County, Texas. In September 1951, I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, executed a deed conveying to I. W. Thompson, Trustee for the Selected Minority Funds, nine-tenths of all of the oil, gas and other minerals in and under approximately 86 acres of land in the highly productive Van Field in Van Zandt County, Texas, which deed is duly recorded in Volume 397, Page 511, of the Deed Records of Van Zandt County, Texas. From and after the effective date of said deed, namely, June 1, 1951, the oil and gas royalties attributable to the mineral interest conveyed by said deed were paid to Selected Minority Funds. The Plaintiffs I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, duly filed joint income tax returns for each of the years involved in this action, but since they did not consider the income paid to Selected Minority Funds as income accruing to them, they did not include said income, which was in a substantial amount, in their returns. Furthermore, since they did not regard the Trust as a taxable trust, they did not file an income tax return on behalf of the Trust for any of the years involved.

The Internal Revenue Service disagreed with the position of Plaintiffs and, after a complete investigation, made deficiency assessments against Plaintiffs I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, for each of the years involved. I. W. Thompson and wife did not voluntarily pay the deficiencies assessed, and they were, therefore, collected by levy. The assessed deficiencies for the years 1953, 1955 and 1956, aggregating the sum of $97,995.67, were collected by levy on the bank account of Selected Minority Funds. Plaintiffs I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, subsequently filed in their own names, as taxpayers, claims for the deficiency assessments made and collected for the years 1952 and 1954 with the District Director of the Internal Revenue Service in Dallas, Texas, hereinafter referred to as the Director. As to the deficiency assessments assessed and collected for the years 1953, 1955 and 1956, claims were filed by I. W. Thompson in the name of Selected Minority Funds, as taxpayer, with the Director in Dallas, Texas.

The broad questions presented are:

(1) Whether the Court has jurisdiction of this action or any part thereof because of the taxpayers’ failure to file sufficient claims for refund for each of the years involved;

(2) Whether the income of Selected Minority Funds is taxable to taxpayers on account of I. W. Thompson’s retention of a certain amount of control over the corpus and income of such trust; and

(3) Whether taxpayer I. W. Thompson retained a reversionary interest in the corpus of the trust which might reasonably be expected to take effect within ten years from the date of the transfer of the mineral interest by I. W. Thompson and wife, Charlie Thompson, to the Trust.

As reflected by the terms of the trust instrument creating the Trust, the Trust was created “for the purpose of aiding worthy and deserving young men and women in securing that type of education which will best fit and qualify them to be useful citizens and to develop in them a high standard of leadership.”

As to those eligible and qualified to be beneficiaries of the Trust, the instrument provides, in effect, that any young man or woman of good moral character who has sufficient scholastic training to meet the entrance requirements of the college or university which the person may select and who is principally interested in securing a college education for the purpose of becoming a useful citizen and a leader in the community and governmental affairs, shall be eligible to accept the benefits of the Trust provided [533]*533such person in good faith declares a belief in advanced peaceful and democratic Socialism and an intention of working for unity of all branches of the movement and working against the aims of those who would embarrass others by false disloyalty charges even to prevent them from a fair chance in college and agreeing to refrain from the use of intoxicating liquor and tobacco in any form during the time he or she is receiving aid from the Trust and declares a purpose to thereafter continue such abstinence. The trust instrument further provides that the Trustee and his successors should have wide discretionary power in selecting from the applicants those persons who, in their opinion, will most nearly conform to the standards set forth in the Trust and will conform to the ideals expressed in the Trust. As to the withdrawal of aid to a beneficiary of the Trust, the trust instrument provides :

“The Trustee and his successors, shall, for any material breach of any of the principles herein set forth or for any other good cause, have the authority to withdraw support from, anyone receiving benefits from these trusts after giving thirty days notice of intention to withdraw such support; provided, however, that the Trustees herein named and provided for shall not act arbitrary or capricious in the withdrawal of such support.
“When aid has been granted to any person and they have entered upon a course of study at any school designated herein, such aid shall be continued, unless withdrawn for the reasons above stated, until a degree has been obtained from such institution if such beneficiary is putting forth a reasonable effort in the pursuit of their studies and is making reasonable progress therein.”

The trust instrument further provides in part as follows:

“It is expressly understood that all money received by the Trustee or his successors during said period of time shall remain the property of said Trustee and his successors and absolute title to all of such money as may be received by said Trustee or his successors during the life of these trusts shall vest in such Trustee and his successors in trust subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, without any reversionary interest in the Donor. Donor hereby forever waives the right and the power to revoke these trusts and it shall remain absolute.
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209 F. Supp. 530, 10 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5694, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-united-states-txed-1962.