Welch v. Commissioner

8 T.C. 1139, 1947 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 189
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedMay 29, 1947
DocketDocket No. 6121
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 8 T.C. 1139 (Welch 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
Welch v. Commissioner, 8 T.C. 1139, 1947 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 189 (tax 1947).

Opinion

OPINION.

Black, Judge:

This proceeding involves a deficiency in income tax for the calendar year 1941 in the amount of $47,008,116. The deficiency is the result of an addition of $67,500 to petitioner’s net income as disclosed by his return for 1941, which respondent, in a statement attached to the deficiency notice, explained as follows:

EXPLANATION OP ADJUSTMENT
(a) It has been determined that the combined income from four trusts created by you on June 28, 1941, and from two trusts created by your wife, Mrs. Marian Edith Welch, on the same date, is taxable to you under the provisions of Sections 22 (a), 166 and/or 167, of the Internal Revenue Code.
The trust income held to be taxable to you is as follows:
From trusts created by you:
Trust for benefit of Laura Ann Welch (No. 1)_$11, 250.00
Trust for benefit of Marian Edith Welch (No. 2)_ 11,250.00
Trust for benefit of Dorothy Elizabeth Welch (No. 3)_ 11,250.00
Trust for benefit of Marian Edith Welch (No. 4)_ 11,250.00
From trusts created by Mrs. Marian Edith Welch:
Trust for benefit of Laura Ann Welch (No. 5)_ 11,250.00
Trust for benefit of Dorothy Elizabeth Welch (No. 6)_ 11,250.00
Total trust income held taxable to you_$67,500.00

By appropriate assignments of error petitioner contests the correctness of this adjustment.

The issue in this proceeding is whether the income received in the taxable year 1941 by four trusts created by the petitioner on June 28, 1941, and by two trusts of which petitioner’s wife was the grantor, created on June 28, 1941, is taxable to the petitioner under the provisions of section 22 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Respondent in his brief does not contend that the income of the trusts is taxable to petitioner under sections 166 and/or 167 of the Internal Revenue Code.

All the facts are stipulated. The stipulation is incorporated by reference and adopted as our findings of fact. Some of the essential facts are summarized below.

Petitioner is an individual who during the taxable year 1941 resided in Detroit, Michigan. He filed his income tax return for the calendar year 1941 with the collector of internal revenue at Detroit, Michigan. The return was prepared on the cash basis.

Prior to June 28, 1941, petitioner owned all of the outstanding capital stock of Novi Equipment Co., a Michigan corporation, sometimes hereinafter referred to as Novi, consisting of 200 shares of no par value common stock. The business of the corporation is that of manufacturing automobile parts and accessories. Petitioner was then married, was living with his wife, and was the father of two minor children, Laura Ann Welch and Dorothy Elizabeth Welch, whose ages were then 9 and 12, respectively.

On June 28, 1941, petitioner executed 4 separate trust indentures, each establishing a trust the corpus of which was to be 15 shares of the common stock of Novi. The trusts were designated by petitioner as Trusts Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Trust No. 1 was for the benefit of petitioner’s daughter, Laura Ann Welch; Trust No. 2 was for the benefit of petitioner’s wife, Marian Edith Welch, as the income beneficiary during her lifetime and his daughter, Laura Ann Welch, as the remainder beneficiary; Trust No. 3 was for the benefit of petitioner’s daughter, Dorothy Elizabeth Welch; and Trust No. 4 was for the benefit of petitioner’s wife, Marian Edith Welch, as the income beneficiary during her lifetime and of his daughter, Dorothy Elizabeth Welch, as the remainder beneficiary.

Simultaneously with the establishment by petitioner of the aforementioned four trusts, petitioner transferred to each trust, as the corpus thereof, 15 shares of the common capital stock of Novi.

On June 28,1941, petitioner transferred, by gift, to his wife, Marian Edith Welch, 30 shares of the common stock of Novi. The certificates of stock evidencing the ownership of the 30 shares transferred by petitioner to his wife as a gift and the 60 shares transferred by him to the 4 trusts were surrendered by petitioner and were canceled by Novi. In exchange therefor, and at the direction of the petitioner, Novi issued 4 certificates for 15 shares each to petitioner, as trustee, and a certificate for 30 shares to his wife, Marian Edith Welch. The above stock certificates were delivered to petitioner, as trustee, and, to Marian Edith Welch on June 28,1941.

Petitioner’s wife, Marian Edith Welch, on June 28, 1941, executed 2 trust indentures, each establishing a trust the corpus of which was to be 15 shares of the common stock of Novi. The trusts were identified by her as Trusts Nos. 5 and 6. Trust No. 5 was for the benefit of her daughter, Laura Ann Welch, and Trust No. 6 was for the benefit of her daughter, Dorothy Elizabeth Welch. Simultaneously with the execution of these trust indentures, Marian Edith Welch transferred to each trust, as the corpus thereof, 15 shares of the common stock of Novi which she had on the same day received from petitioner as a gift. The certificate which she held for the 30 shares of Novi’s stock was surrendered and canceled by Novi and at her direction new certificates for 15 shares each were issued in lieu thereof to Lewis W. Welch as trustee for Laura Ann Welch and Dorothy Elizabeth Welch, respectively. These stock certificates were delivered to Lewis W. Welch, as trustee, on June 28, 1941.

Each of the above trust indentures designated Lewis W. Welch as trustee and William Henry Gallagher as successor trustee. Lewis W. Welch has served as trustee for each trust continuously since its creation on June 28,1941. He has not received any compensation for his services as trustee of the various trusts.

Each original trust indenture was substantially identical in all respects except as to the names of the beneficiaries and the provisions for the distribution and accumulation of income. On December 23, 1941, each trust indenture was amended in certain respects which will be hereinafter referred to. The trusts were declared to be irrevocable. Paragraph 2 of the original trust instrument and the amendments of December 23,1941, are shown in the following two columns:

Original Trust
The Trustee shall have full power and authority in respect of every trust estate mentioned in this instrument, as follows:
(a) To take possession of said corpus of the trust and collect and receive the monies, interests, profits and income arising therefrom, with full power in the Trustee to manage the same as in the judgment and discretion of the Trustee may seem most advantageous to such trust estate and the beneficiaries thereof.

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Related

Tobin v. Commissioner
11 T.C. 928 (U.S. Tax Court, 1948)
Herberts v. Commissioner
10 T.C. 1053 (U.S. Tax Court, 1948)
Welch v. Commissioner
8 T.C. 1139 (U.S. Tax Court, 1947)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
8 T.C. 1139, 1947 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/welch-v-commissioner-tax-1947.