United States v. Havner

21 F. Supp. 985, 20 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 754, 1937 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1303
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedDecember 20, 1937
DocketNo. 4643
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 21 F. Supp. 985 (United States v. Havner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Havner, 21 F. Supp. 985, 20 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 754, 1937 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1303 (S.D. Iowa 1937).

Opinion

DEWEY, District Judge.

This suit was instituted on September 24, 1936, by the United States of America against H. M. Havner, as a law action seeking to secure a judgment for delinquent taxes duly assessed for the year 1920 and 1923 to 1927, inclusive.

The answer was filed and a motion was made by the defendant to transfer to equity.

On July 7, 1937, the parties stipulated the facts and filed the same with the clerk of this court. Thereafter and on November 30, 1937, the case came ón for hearing on a nonjury assignment, and the motion to transfer to equity was sustained. Evidence was introduced and the case submitted on written briefs and arguments, which have all been filed. The court has carefully read and considered all the cáses relied upon by the plaintiff and defendant.

[987]*987The Facts.

1. The facts are stipulated and, as they are concisely stated and no additional evidence was introduced, these facts are adopted as the facts duly found by the court in this proceeding.

2. From statements made at the trial and upon the record, I find that the commissioner intends, or at least contends, that he has the right to enforce any judgment obtained on this proceedings within the period of limitations for the enforcement of judgments under the laws of Iowa.

Opinion.

It is necessary to state some of the facts again to understand the legal questions involved.

The following is the tax due for the several years and the date of assessment:

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1935, and accompanied by a waiver which provides as follows:

“The proponent hereby expressly waives-
“2. The benefit of any statute of limitations applicable to the assessment and/or collection of the liability sought to be compromised, and agrees to the suspension of the running of the statutory period of limitations on assessment and/or collection for the period during which this offer is pending and for one year thereafter.”

The controversy to a great extent centers around the following statute of limitations, being section 276, paragraph (c), of title 26 of the United States Code, 26 U.S. C.A. § 276(c), which is as follows: “Collection after assessment. Where the assessment of any income tax imposed by this chapter has been made within the period of limitation properly applicable thereto, such

After the assessments were made, as above, there were three offers of compromise submitted and three waivers of the statute of limitations signed by the defendant; one offer of compromise was made on December 17, 1931, rejected June 27, 1932. The waiver contained the following statement:

“The taxpayer hereby expressly waives-
“2. The benefit of any statute of limitations affecting the collection of the liability sought to be compromised, and in the event of the rejection of the offer, expressly consents to the extension of any statute of limitations affecting the collection of the liability sought to be compromised by the period of time (not to exceed two years) elapsed between the date of the filing of this offer and the date on which final action thereon is taken.”

On January 31, 1933, the defendant submitted another offer, rejected August 4, 1933, and the waiver accompanying this compromise offer contained the identical language set forth above.

Another offer of compromise was made on February 16, 1935, rejected on April 19, tax may be collected by distraint or by a proceeding in court, but only if begun (1) within six years after the assessment of the tax, or (2) prior to the expiration of any period for collection agreed upon in writing by the Commissioner and the taxpayer before the expiration of such six-year period. The period so agreed upon may be extended by subsequent agreements in writing made before the expiration of the period previously agreed upon.”

Disregarding the question of waivers, the statutory period for the collection of the 1920 tax expired February 8, 1936; for the 1923 tax, November 21, 1937; for the 1924, 1925, and 1926 taxes, July 13, 1935; and for the 1927 tax, March 22, 1936.

It is apparent that the Congress of the United States in specifically providing for income tax assessment and collection formulated and established a complete code of procedure. General statutes not pertaining thereto are not to be considered. Cook County Nat. Bank v. United States, 107 U.S. 445, 451, 2 S.Ct. 561, 27 L.Ed. 537; Davis v. Elmire Sav. Bank, 161 U.S. 275, 16 S.Ct. 502, 40 L.Ed. 700; Leach v. [988]*988Exchange State Bank, 200 Iowa 185, 203 N.W. 31. Here the bar under the provisions of section 276, supra, is therefore exclusively controlling.

The government contends that, in determining the expiration date of the above statute for the collection of taxes, the periods of extension provided in the three foregqing waivers should be cumulative and that, under the terms of the waivers and said section 276, the period of limitation was extended 2 years, 2 months, and 17 days beyond the basic 6-year limitation provided by section 276. Neither the waivers themselves, the statutes, nor any authorities of the courts, sustain this .contention.

The defendant contends that the last waiver contaihs an agreement that the period of limitation for the enforcement of the collection of the tax should only run within the period contained in that waiver. It must be admitted that the third waiver is not as clear as it might be; but, reading it in connection with the statute, I am clearly of the opinion that it tolled the statute for the period specified in the waiver, which was 14 months and 3 days.

Each waiver is separate and distinct in and of itself. The first waiver tolled the statute for 6 months and 10 days, the second waiver tolled the statute for 6 months and 4 days, while the last one tolled the statute 14 months and 3 days. Helvering v. Ethel D. Co., 63 App.D.C. 157, 70 F.2d 761, 762.

Plaintiff in this connection relies upon the case of United States v. Fischer, 93 F.2d 488, decided by the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on December 6, 1937, but I am unable to find any support for plaintiff’s contention in this case but rather that it. substantiates the idea that each waiver is separate and distinct and is not affected by the others unless so expressed.

The statute of limitations then became or becomes a bar to any distraint or proceedings in court for the collection of the tax, as follows:

The 1920 tax, declared upon in count 1 of the petition, barred on April 11, 1937.

The 1923 tax, declared upon in count 2 of the petition, barred January 24, 1938.

The 1924, 1925, and 1926 taxes, declared upon in counts 3, '4, and 5 of the petition, barred September 16, 1936.

The 1927 tax, declared upon in count 6 of the petition, barred May 25, 1937.

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United States v. Fine
243 F. Supp. 785 (S.D. New York, 1965)
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166 F. Supp. 415 (D. Maryland, 1958)
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Harry H. Hector v. United States
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United States v. Havner
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Bluebook (online)
21 F. Supp. 985, 20 A.F.T.R. (P-H) 754, 1937 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1303, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-havner-iasd-1937.