Tobey v. Commissioner

26 T.C. 610, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 149
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedJune 21, 1956
DocketDocket No. 53118
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 26 T.C. 610 (Tobey 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
Tobey v. Commissioner, 26 T.C. 610, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 149 (tax 1956).

Opinion

OPINION.

Aeundell, Judge:

Respondent determined a deficiency of $45,902.78 in income tax for the taxable year ended December 81,' 1950. Two issues are involved: (1) Whether the respondent erred in determining that petitioner was taxable in 1950 on a short-term capital gain of $37,529.13 from some 51 “short sales” during the period from October 13,1943, to January 20,1949, inclusive, and (2) whether the respondent erred in determining that $50,295.32 of interest which had accrued after petitioner had acquired certain bonds prior to May 8,1947, and which remained unpaid until 1950, was taxable to petitioner in 1950 when the bonds and defaulted interest were redeemed at par. Certain additional errors were assigned but have been abandoned.

The facts were stipulated and are summarized below.

1'. Petitioner is an individual presently residing at Bedford Village (formerly residing at North Salem, Westchester County, New York). His separate individual income tax return for the calendar year 1950 was filed with the then collector of internal revenue for the fourteenth district, Albany, New York.

Petitioner was for many years senior partner in the New York Stock Exchange brokerage firm of Tobey & Kirk located in New York City. In or about July 1949 he retired as a partner from the firm.

During 1943, petitioner’s firm of Tobey & Kirk needed additional capital in order to comply with the requirements of the New York Stock Exchange. On behalf of the firm, petitioner, with the approval of the Stock Exchange, made a special arrangement with one of the firm’s customers, Anne W. Collins, hereinafter sometimes referred to as Anne Collins. On September 27, 1943, petitioner entered into a written agreement with Anne Collins whereby $2,175.73 in cash and certain securities specified in the agreement were delivered to petitioner. The cash and securities were taken out of Anne Collins’s account in the books of Tobey & Kirk and were transferred to another firm account entitled “Allen Tobey Capital a/c.” The agreement, among other things, further provided:

Anne W. Collins * * * has this day loaned to Allen Tobey * * * the following securities for a period from this date to December SI, 1944:
1,000 shares National Bellas Hess, Inc.
500 “ Tubize Chatillon Class “A”
1,800 “ National City Lines, Inc.
200 “ Pittsburgh Coke & Iron Company Common
1,000 “ Gar Wood Industries Common Cash in the amount of $2,175.73 secured by a first mortgage * * * on real estate owned by Allen Tobey * * * in the sum of * * * ($50,000.00) with interest at the rate of * * * (3%) per annum.
Allen Tobey may contribute the above mentioned securities to the firm of Tobey & Kirk * * * as a contribution of capital by him, or make the same available to the firm as part of the firm’s assets and such securities may be held, pledged, sold, transferred, disposed of or otherwise dealt with by the firm as partnership property in like manner as though Allen Tobey had so contributed or made available his own securities * ⅜ * Allen Tobey individually undertakes and agrees that on December 31, 1944, he will repay said loan by returning to Anne W. Collins a like amount of said stock and will pay or assign to Anne W. Collins the amount of any cash or stock dividends or rights which Anne W. Collins would otherwise lose by reason of the transaction evidenced hereby. Anne W. Collins does not reserve or retain any property right in the stock loaned as aforesaid but her rights hereunder shall consist solely of the contractual right against Allen Tobey individually to the repayment of said loan in the manner hereinafter specified; and the firm shall not be under any liability to Anne W. Collins by reason of this agreement nor shall it be under any obligation whatsoever to Anne W. Collins on account of said stock or any cash or stock dividends or rights received by Allen Tobey or the firm.
Anne W. Collins shall have the right to have returned to her by Allen Tobey at any time on demand securities of the same kind and amount as any of the securities enumerated in this agreement provided that she assigns and delivers to Allen Tobey in place thereof other securities of equal market value or cash equal to the market value of the securities so returned, and all the provisions of this agreement shall apply to such substituted securities or cash to the same extent as though they or it were all or part of the securities initially loaned.

The above agreement was renewed annually, the last renewal being for a further period of 1 year from December 31,1948, to December 31, 1949.

All of the securities listed in the agreement are the same securities determined by respondent (with the exception of Tubize Rayon Corp. and Celanese Corporation stocks which were acquired as a result of several reorganizations and split-ups of Tubize Chatillon class “A” stock) as being sold “short,” in 51 separate sales, summarized as follows:

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On October 22,1945, petitioner wrote Anne Collins a letter, the body of which is as f ollows:

According to the agreement between ns on file with the New York Stock Exchange and after various exchanges made by you during the term of this loan to me, secured by mortgage on my Long Island property, as of this date the loan is comprised of the following securities:
100 shares Babcock & Wilcox
100 “ Consolidated Natural Gas
100 “ Consolidated Edison
100 “ Emerson Electric
200 “ Great Western Sugar
200 “ Marshall Field
1,000 “ National City Lines
100 “ Pitney Bowes
200 “ Textron Inc. (New)
1,800 “ Tubize Bayon
and a credit balance of $104.22

On April 30, 1946, petitioner wrote Anne Collins agreeing—

to pay you six per cent interest on any cash received from the proceeds of sale, on your instructions, of any securities in your loan to me during the term of this agreement.

On May 10,1946, petitioner wrote Anne Collins a letter, the body of which is as follows:

According to the agreement between us on file with the New York Stock Exchange and after various exchanges made by you during the term of this loan to me, secured by mortgage on my Long Island Property, as of this date the loan is comprised of the following securities:
100 shares Babcock & Wilcox
100 “ Central Aguirre Associates
1,200 " Celanese Corp. of America

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Tobey v. Commissioner
26 T.C. 610 (U.S. Tax Court, 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
26 T.C. 610, 1956 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tobey-v-commissioner-tax-1956.