William U. Watson v. Commissioner

8 T.C.M. 357, 1949 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 216
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 20, 1949
DocketDocket No. 15869.
StatusUnpublished

This text of 8 T.C.M. 357 (William U. Watson 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
William U. Watson v. Commissioner, 8 T.C.M. 357, 1949 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 216 (tax 1949).

Opinion

William U. Watson v. Commissioner.
William U. Watson v. Commissioner
Docket No. 15869.
United States Tax Court
1949 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 216; 8 T.C.M. (CCH) 357; T.C.M. (RIA) 49089;
April 20, 1949
Egbert Robertson, Esq., and Edmund L. McGibbon, Esq., 134 So. LaSalle St., Chicago, Ill., for the petitioner. Jackson L. Boughner, Esq., for the respondent.

KERN

Memorandum Findings of Fact and Opinion

This proceeding involves petitioner's income tax liability for the year 1945. The deficiency, as determined in the notice of deficiency, was $49,068.92. In his answer, respondent has claimed an increased deficiency in the amount of $25,710.92, making a total of $74,779.84.

Three issues are presented: (1) The holding period for debentures Nos. 13 to 165, and the coupons appertaining thereto of the Greenduck Metal Stamping Co., purchased*217 by petitioner and subsequently retired by the company, for the purpose of determining whether the gain on the retirement thereof was long-term or short-term capital gain under section 117 of the Code; (2) the cost basis of such debentures and coupons, petitioner having computed the basis as $40,236.59, whereas respondent has contended for a basis of $26,562.50; and (3) the proper method of treating the sum of $5,408.96, the amount of attorneys' fees and costs, incident to arranging for the redemption of all of the debentures acquired by petitioner. Many of the facts have been stipulated.

Findings of Fact

The stipulated facts are hereby found accordingly.

During 1945, petitioner was a resident of Chicago, Illinois, and filed his return for that calendar year, which was prepared on a cash basis, with the collector for the first district of Illinois.

On January 1, 1930, petitioner was the owner of all the capital stock, consisting of 3,000 shares of the Greenduck Metal Stamping Co., an Illinois corporation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as Greenduck). In that same year Greenduck issued $150,000 of 6% debentures of the par value of $500 each. Each debenture was numbered from*218 1 to 300, inclusive. The debentures were secured by a trust indenture, under which the Chicago Title & Trust Co. was trustee.

The debentures matured serially in the order of their serial numbers, at a rate of from $6,000 to $13,000 per year over the period January 1, 1931, to January 1, 1946. All debentures to and including the one numbered 165 had matured by their terms on or before January 1, 1940. They were subject to redemption and prepayment on any interest-payment date in the order of their serial numbers at par and accrued interest under the conditions and procedures specified in the trust indenture. They bore interest from their date until maturity at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, payable annually on the first day of each year. After maturity the debentures and the coupons bore interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum until paid.

Petitioner guaranteed full payment of the debentures and interest and full performance by Greenduck of all the terms, conditions, and covenants of the trust indenture. As additional security, there were deposited with the trustee policies of life insurance on petitioner's life in the amount of $80,213, with the provision that any money*219 received by the trustee by reason of such insurance should be applied to the redemption of the then outstanding and unpaid debentures.

In January 1931 Greenduck paid debentures Nos. 1 to 12, aggregating $6,000, in par value, and paid the interest then due on the whole issue. It paid the interest due January 1, 1932, and January 1, 1933. It failed to pay any further interest and failed to pay or redeem any debentures due January 1, 1932, or thereafter until 1945, as hereinafter more fully described.

On August 27, 1940, all of Greenduck's outstanding debentures and coupons, both defaulted and later maturing, were owned by the partnership of Campbell & Jordan. On that date petitioner entered into an agreement with Campbell & Jordan, to which agreement Greenduck and the debenture trustee were also parties, whereby the partnership agreed to sell and petitioner agreed to purchase all of the debentures, coupons, and interest obligations of Greenduck, then held by the partnership. Under the terms of this agreement, Campbell & Jordan agreed to accept in payment of the debentures and coupons the assignment to its nominee of the insurance policies on petitioner's life, referred to in the*220 trust indenture, and the sum of $50,000 payable at the rate of $416.67 per month, commencing September 1, 1940. It was provided that as payments were made by petitioner, there should be delivered to him the outstanding debentures of the longest maturity with coupons thereafter maturing but without any defaulted coupons, to the extent of the amounts paid by him in multiples of $500. When the payments made by petitioner equaled $50,000, he was to receive all of the remaining outstanding debentures with attached coupons, all defaulted coupons appertaining to debentures theretofore delivered to him, and an assignment of all of the rights of Campbell & Jordan in any accrued interest obligations on the debentures and coupons, so that as a result all of their interest in the debentures would be transferred to petitioner.

Petitioner's right to acquire the debentures was conditioned upon full performance by Greenduck of all of the covenants of the trust indenture, excepting that relating to the payment of principal and interest on the debentures. Additionally, he and Greenduck were jointly and severally liable to continue the insurance policies in effect. The right, however, was accorded*221 petitioner, at any time before December 31, 1950, to acquire the policies by paying Campbell & Jordan the sum of $25,768, or by delivering his note in that amount. He did give his note to the partnership in that sum on July 10, 1945, and upon the payment of the note in January, 1946, he received the policies.

Prior to January 1, 1945, petitioner paid in the monthly instalments provided for in the contract of August 27, 1940, totaling $21,666.84. By May of 1945 he made five additional monthly payments totaling $2,083.35.

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