Wegman's Properties, Inc. v. Commissioner

78 T.C. No. 53, 78 T.C. 786, 1982 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 100
United States Tax Court·Decided May 5, 1982·No. Docket No. 6655-79·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

OPINION

Tannenwald, Chief Judge:

Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners’ Federal income tax of $25,883.47 for the taxable year ended June 24, 1972, and $24,023.10 for the taxable year ended June 30, 1973. The sole issue for our determination is whether, for purposes of computing petitioners’ minimum tax liability, tax carryovers generated by one corporation in preaffiliation years1 may be used to offset items of tax preference generated by a second corporation in consolidated return years.

This case was submitted fully stipulated pursuant to Rule 122, Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. The stipulation of facts is incorporated by this reference.

The petitioners in this case are three corporations with their principal places of business in Rochester, N.Y. — Wegman’s Properties, Inc. (Properties), Wegman’s Enterprises, Inc. (Enterprises), and Wegman’s Markets, Inc. (Markets). Properties was created during 1972 when the shareholders of Enterprises and Markets contributed all of their stock in those corporations to Properties in exchange for the stock of Properties. Thus, during 1972 and 1973, Enterprises and Markets were wholly owned subsidiaries of Properties.

For 1970 and 1971, Markets and Enterprises each filed separate Federal corporation income tax returns. In 1970 and 1971, Markets had $0 and $24,000 of tax preference items and generated tax carryovers of $108,571.50 and $558,583.86. In 1970 and 1971, Enterprises paid minimum tax of $46,762 and $23,263 and generated no tax carryovers.

Properties, Markets, and Enterprises properly elected to file consolidated returns for 1972 and 1973. For 1972, petitioners reported tax preference items for purposes of the minimum tax of $462,514.67. It appears that these tax preference items were generated by Enterprises. For 1973, Enterprises had tax preference items of $378,699, and Markets had tax preference items of $61,609. Petitioners’ attempt to offset Markets’ tax carryovers from 1970 and 1971 against tax preference items generated by Enterprises in 1972 and 1973 has been disallowed by respondent.2

Section 56(a)3 imposes a minimum tax on tax preference items as defined in section 57. The tax is calculated by subtracting, from the items of tax preference, a $30,000 exclusion, the regular income tax paid for that year (adjusted to disregard certain credits), and any tax carryovers. The difference, the minimum tax base, is then multiplied by 10 percent to arrive at the minimum tax liability. Tax carryovers result when the regular income tax paid in a given year (adjusted for certain credits) exceeds the amount necessary to reduce the minimum tax base to zero. See sec. 56(c).4

On March 19, 1970, the Internal Revenue Service issued Technical Information Release 1032, stating that it would issue regulations reflecting the effect of the minimum tax on consolidated returns.5 Those regulations have neither been issued nor proposed. Petitioners’ position is that, in the absence of a specific provision under the consolidated return regulations, Markets’ tax carryovers generated in preaffiliation years may be applied on petitioners’ consolidated returns to offset Enterprises’ items of tax preference. Respondent contends that, in the absence of an express regulation permitting such carryover of tax attributes, a proper interpretation of statutory provisions and court decisions mandates that the affiliated group not be permitted to use Markets’ carryovers against Enterprises’ preference items. We hold for respondent.

We emphasize that the issue here is a narrow one. Respondent apparently has allowed petitioners, in consolidated return years, to offset their combined regular income tax liability against their combined preference items.6 We need only decide whether Markets’ tax carryovers, generated in preaffiliation years, may be offset against Enterprises’ preference items generated in affiliated years.

Any corporation seeking to utilize as a deduction tax attributes generated in past years by another corporation can do so only upon the authority of a specific statutory or regulatory provision. See Woolford Realty Co. v. Rose, 286 U.S. 319, 326 (1932); New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering, 292 U.S. 435, 440 (1934); Wolter Construction Co. v. Commissioner, 68 T.C. 39, 45 (1977), affd. 634 F.2d 1029 (6th Cir. 1980).

As previously indicated, the Secretary has not promulgated any consolidated return regulations authorizing the result petitioners are seeking. Nor does section 56 permit Enterprises to utilize Markets’ 1970 and 1971 tax carryovers. Section 56 imposes a minimum tax on each "person” and provides for the computation of that tax. "Each corporation is a separate taxpayer whether it stands alone or is in an affiliated group and files a consolidated return. National Carbide Corp. v. Commissioner, 336 U.S. 422 (1949); Interstate Transit Lines v. Commissioner, 319 U.S. 590 (1943); Woolford Realty Co. v. Rose, 286 U.S. 319 (1932).” Electronic Sensing Products, Inc. v. Commissioner, 69 T.C. 276, 281 (1977). See also Trinco Industries, Inc. v. Commissioner, 22 T.C. 959, 962 (1954).7 We see nothing in section 56 authorizing one taxpayer to use tax carryovers of another taxpayer.

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Wegman's Properties, Inc. v. Commissioner, 78 T.C. No. 53, 78 T.C. 786, 1982 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 100 (tax 1982).

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Wegman's Properties, Inc. v. Commissioner
78 T.C. No. 53 (U.S. Tax Court, 1982)