Tax Law Commons^™

Taxation - Ordinary And Necessary Expenses - Deduction Of Advertising Expenses Incurred To Defeat State Initiative Measures, Robert J. Paley S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioners were members of a partnership engaged in the wholesale distribution of beer in Washington. In 1948 the partnership made contributions to a publicity campaign instituted to defeat an initiative to be presented to the voting public, the passage of which would have placed retail beer and wine sales exclusively in state hands. In their 1948 tax returns petitioners deducted the amount contributed as ordinary and necessary business expense. After the Commissioner disallowed the deduction the petitioners paid the deficiency under protest and sued for a refund in the district court. That court denied the refund, ruling that the payments …

Impact Of Recent Tax Stimulants On Modest Enterprises, L. Hart Wright, Jerome B. Libin

Michigan Law Review

The recession year 1958 found Congress in a mood to "aid and encourage small business" through more favorable tax treatment. The thrust of the ensuing legislation touched in varying degrees the whole life span of a modest enterprise, from organization through liquidation. The focus here, however, will be confined to a consideration of the practical impact of the recent statutory changes on the organizational and ordinary operational phases of such a business.

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Lessor's Right To Depreciation Allowances Under Long Term-Lease, E. Roger Frisch S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff corporation leased its entire railroad property under a long-term lease subject to termination at the election of either party, or by breach of die lessee. The lessee agreed to preserve, replace, renew and maintain the property during the term and to return it upon termination "in at least as good condition as at the beginning of the term." Plaintiff, on the other hand, agreed to reimburse the lessee for all additions and betterments to the property which passed to him upon termination. The government disallowed plaintiff's claim for a tax refund based on its right to allow for depreciation, …

Inheritance Taxation - Selected Provisions Of Michigan, Illinois And Ohio - A Study In Application And Justification, Edward B. Stulberg S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

This comment will explore the existing variations in four commonly encountered areas: joint interests with rights of survivorship, contingent remainder interests, powers of appointment, and life insurance proceeds. Emphasis will also be placed on treatment accorded the surviving spouse and children and the implicit relationship between such treatment and some of the above areas. The essence of this examination will be to inquire whether adoption of an estate tax would be a more suitable vehicle for implementing a local death tax program.

Constitutional Law - Commerce Clause - Power Of States To Levy Net Income Tax On Businesses Engaged In Soley Interstate Commerce, John C. Peters S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Appellant, an Iowa corporation, maintained a sales office in Minnesota and employed salesmen who solicited orders from dealers within that state, though all of its sales contracts were made at the corporation's home office in Iowa. In accordance with a Minnesota statute, a state net income tax, fairly apportioned to the state's share of the corporation's interstate business, was levied upon appellant. In a suit brought by the state to collect this tax, appellant contended that the statute as applied violated the commerce and due process clauses of the Federal Constitution because it taxed the net proceeds of a business …

Taxation - Federal Estate Tax - Incidence Of Tax Determined By Testamentary Directive, Robert A. Smith

Michigan Law Review

An inter vivas trust created by testator and property held jointly with his wife were included in his gross estate in computing the federal estate tax.1Testator left his residuary estate to charity and directed in his will that the estate tax on the above inter vivas transfers be borne by the property so transferred. The government determined that the estate tax was payable out of the residue and reduced the charitable deduction by the amount of the estate tax attributable to the inter vivas transfers pursuant to section 812(d) of the 1939 Internal Revenue Code. The district court granted the …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Involuntary Conversion Treatment Afforded Sale Of Remaining Property After Partial Condemnation, Stevan Uzelac

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner owned two parcels of real estate across the street from each other which were used as one "economic unit" for purposes of a trucking terminal. One parcel was improved with a terminal building from which trucks would pick up and deliver their shipments, while the other was used as a parking lot for trucks not in use. Petitioner was forced to sell the parking lot under threat of condemnation. Since it was economically unfeasible to operate his business without a nearby parking lot, petitioner subsequently sold the terminal facilities and reinvested the proceeds from the sales of both properties …

Federal Taxation - Tax Aspects Of Corporate Buy And Sell Agreement, Joel D. Tauber S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this comment to consider the tax problems connected with both types of "conventional" corporate buy and sell agreements. It should be recognized, however, that there are many questions of local law and business necessity that also exert influence on the use of such agreements.

Federal Taxation - Transferee Liability Of Insurance Beneficiary, John Gelder S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Nearly six years after taxpayer died income tax deficiencies were determined against his estate. Since his estate was insolvent the Commissioner sought to impose transferee liability under section 311 of the 1939 code (now I.R.C. section 6901) on plaintiff, taxpayer's widow, as beneficiary of" her husband's life insurance. The Tax Court, applying federal law, held plaintiff liable for the entire deficiency since the proceeds received by her exceeded that amount. The court of appeals, applying state law, reversed and ruled that the beneficiary was not a "transferee" within the meaning of section 311 even to the extent of the cash …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Proceeds From Cancellation Of Contract Treated As Ordinary Income, Jerome B. Libin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer had the exclusive right for a period of ten years to purchase all the coal mined by the operator of certain mines. In 1949 the operator paid taxpayer $500,000 as consideration for the complete acquisition of taxpayer's right and interest in the purchase agreement. Taxpayer reported this sum as a long-term capital gain. The Commissioner claimed that the amount received was ordinary income. The Tax Court upheld taxpayer's contention, indicating that the transaction had resulted in the sale or exchange of a capital asset. On appeal by the Commissioner, held, reversed, one justice dissenting. This transaction was more …

Bonds - Income Bonds - Rights Of Bondholders And Deductibility Of Interest For Federal Income Tax Purposes, Guy B. Maxfield S.Ed., Michael M. Lyons S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

An income bond is an obligation of a corporation on which interest is payable only out of earnings, as distinguished from the ordinary corporate bond on which interest is a fixed charge regardless of earnings. Long regarded as a hybrid security which is to be issued only as a last resort, income bonds have grown surprisingly in popularity over the past two decades. It is the purpose of this comment to consider the historical background of income bonds, to make a comparative analysis of the bond indentures as they affect investors' rights, and to consider the deductibility of income bond …

Taxation - Federal Estate Tax - Insurance And Annuity Combinations, John B. Schwemm S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, aged seventy-six, invested in three single premium life insurance policies. Issuance of each was conditioned on the purchase of a single life, nonrefundable annuity of specified value, and no physical examination was required. Each combination was balanced so that the total premium, exclusive of loading charges, equalled the face value of the insurance. The resulting correlation between compound interest and annuity disbursements made the guaranteed payments to the annuitant correspond precisely with the expected income of a reinvestment of the entire deposit by the insurer. Decedent retained the annuity rights, but all present and future interests in the life …

Constitutional Law - Intergovernmental Tax Immunities - Erosion Of Distinction Between Taxation Of Property And Of Privilege, Barry L. Kroll S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff Murray Corporation, a manufacturer of airplane parts for the federal government, was assessed a tax by the city of Detroit under the General Property Tax Act of Michigan, based in part on the value of materials. which the corporation had in its possession. Legal title to these materials was in the federal government. The corporation paid the taxes under protest and sued for a refund, contending that the taxes infringed the federal government's immunity from state taxation to the extent the taxes were based on the value of government property. The district court entered judgment for Murray and the …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Right Of Donee To Deduct Expense Of Contesting Gift Tax Asserted Against Donor, William J. Wise S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

ln 1948 taxpayer's mother gave him 410 shares of stock in the family enterprise. She filed a gift tax return, but the government, in auditing it, disagreed with her valuation of the stock. Donor had no desire to contest the government's valuation, but since his mother and father still held substantial stock in the business which would eventually go to him, donee desired a lower valuation for estate tax evidentiary purposes. Allegedly fearing personal liability for any deficiency assessed against his mother as well as a lien against the corpus of the gift for any unpaid tax, he decided to …

Tax Accrual Accounting For Contested Items (Without The Benefit Of I.R.C. Sections 452 And 462), Harrop A. Freeman

Michigan Law Review

A spate of cases in 1956-1957 has required us to examine again the tax handling of accrual accounting in an attempt to find some way through the judicial morass. This study is concerned primarily with proper income and expense accrual reporting in cases in which some form of controversy exists or may exist between the taxpayer and another party concerning the item to be accrued.

Bankruptcy - Priorities - Priority Status Of Tax On Wages Earned But Unpaid At Time Of Bankruptcy, John F. Powell

Michigan Law Review

The State of California demanded that a trustee in bankruptcy pay the employer's tax due on wages earned by the employees of the bankrupt. The wages were earned within the three-month period prior to the petition in bankruptcy but had not been paid prior to bankruptcy. The trustee did not continue the operation of the bankrupt's business. The United States district court reversed the Referee and ordered the trustee to pay the tax claim. The court of appeals affirm. ed. On rehearing, held, affirmed. Since the tax is not due until the wages are actually paid, the tax accrues …

The Impact Of The 12% Reserve Income Tax Provivsion Upon The Banking Structure, Paul D. Lagomarcino

Michigan Law Review

Ordinarily, it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to measure with any degree of accuracy the impact of a tax provision upon an industry. This is often so even after years of experience under it. Moreover, with few exceptions, it is an unusual tax provision that shapes the fundamental ·practices and competitive relationships within an industry, unless it is purposely directed to that end as a matter of policy, and, even then, it may (and frequently does) fail of its objective. Section 593 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 is unique in all these respects; on its face-a provision …

Taxation - Income Tax - Accurabilty Of Dealer Reserves Withheld By Finance Company, A. Duncan Whitaker S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner, a dealer in new and used trailers, had agreements with several finance companies whereby they agreed to buy promissory notes he received on installment sales. The agreements permitted the finance company to withhold a portion of the unpaid balance on each note and credit such amount to the petitioner's "dealer reserve" account. The petitioner was liable for all notes in default and the finance company could charge the reserve with any unpaid balance. The reserve could also be charged with any debts of the petitioner to the company. Periodically, the dealer was to receive portions of the reserve in …

Taxation - Federal Estate Tax - Interpretation Of "In Fact" Clause Of Section 2036 And Deductibility Of Support Rights Of Wife, Nathan B. Driggers S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Having decided to separate, but desiring to avoid the publicity of a judicial proceeding, decedent and his wife executed an agreement which called for the transfer of securities to a trust, the income of which was to be paid to the wife for her life or until her remarriage, with a reversionary interest in the decedent. In consideration for the transfer, the wife relinquished her right to support by the decedent. Both parties were represented by attorneys in the arms-length negotiations leading to the agreement. About six years after the separation, during which time neither party took steps to procure …

Income Tax - Non-Business Bad Debt Deduction - Deduction For Partially Secured Bad Debt Deferable Until Liquidation Of Collateral Regardless Of Tax Avoidance Motive, Robert H. Elliott Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In 1944 the taxpayer liquidated security held for a non-business debt and deducted the balance of the debt as worthless. The creditor had been insolvent for some time. The commissioner disallowed the deduction on the grounds that the taxpayer had held the security after the debt was worthless in order to obtain a larger tax benefit from the deduction. The district court upheld the Commissioner. On appeal, held, reversed. A partially secured debt is not worthless as long as security is available for its satisfaction. The taxpayer's intent is not a factor in determining worthlessness. Loewi v. Ryan, …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax Deductibility Of Interest On Debentures Issues As A Dividend, Jules M. Perlberg

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer, a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation, had filed consolidated returns with its parent prior to 1934. When Congress abolished consolidated returns in that year, the subsidiary issued 6% debentures as a dividend to the parent company and subsequently deducted the interest paid on these bonds. The Commissioner claimed the interest payments were really dividends and were not deductible. The Tax Court upheld the Commissioner pointing out the tax-saving motive, absence of new investment, and parent-subsidiary relationship as factors indicating that no genuine debtor-creditor relationship existed. On appeal, held, reversed. The debentures involved were conventional in form and created a valid …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Secret Withdrawals Of Corporate Receipts By Stockholders As Income In Absence Of Surplus, Kenneth H. Haynie S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

As sole stockholder of the Robbins Tire and Rubber Company, the defendant managed and controlled the affairs of the corporation. Over a period of years he intercepted the company's receipts from several of its large customers and diverted them to his own use. No entries of such receipts were made on the books of the company, nor was any tax paid on them. Defendant was convicted for attempted evasion of his personal income tax on these funds. On appeal, held, affirmed. Taxation is concerned with actual command over property: If does not matter whether defendant got the funds as …

Constitutional Law - Due Process - Notice Required To Validate Tax Foreclosure Of Property Of Known Mental Incompetent, Frank M. Lacey S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On May 8, 1952, the town of Somers instituted an action to foreclose a number of tax liens. One of these was upon the property owned by a person known in the community to be a mental incompetent, but who had not yet been so certified by a court. Notice was given to the incompetent taxpayer in compliance with the statute by mail, posting, and publication. When she failed to answer within the prescribed period, foreclosure was entered and a deed to her property delivered to the town. Five days later she was declared a person of unsound mind, and …

Transfers Of Joint Property In Contemplation Of Death: A Call For Immediate Statutory Revision, L. Hart Wright

Michigan Law Review

For years the Tax Court sided with the government and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in asserting that the contemplation-of-death provision of the estate tax act was sufficiently elastic to include the tax concept of ownership reflected in the joint-property provision of the same act. The alliance between those tribunals on this point was recently broken, however, when the Tax Court shifted to the competing view supported by taxpayers and the appellate court for the Ninth Circuit. It now believes that the two provisions mentioned above are complete strangers even though at one time these two were …

The Martial Deduction And Equalization Under The Federal Estate And Gift Taxes Between Common Law And Community Property States, Paul E. Anderson

Michigan Law Review

In 1948, as the culmination of much dissatisfaction with the treatment of community property under the federal estate and gift tax laws, Congress adopted a new formula for the treatment of gifts and bequests between spouses; this formula was known as the marital deduction. It has remained practically unchanged since its adoption and still stands as an integral part of our federal estate and gift tax structure.

The basic purpose of the deduction was to provide equalization in estate and gift tax treatment between spouses residing in community property states and those residing in common law property states. The plan …

Taxation - Liens -Priority Of A Subsequent Federal Tax Lien Over An Antecedent Inchoate Lien, John B. Huck S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment is to analyze the rationale, in terms of both statutory construction and policy, of the theory that only a choate garnishment lien is superior to a subsequent tax lien.

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Damages For Injury To Business As Return Of Capital Or Income, Eric Bergsten S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The taxpayers, owners of two movie theatres, recovered $36,000 in a compromise settlement of a Clayton Act suit against the major distributors and exhibitors. The taxpayers claimed that the amount received was a return of capital. The Commissioner claimed the amount received represented the recovery of lost profits. Held, Commissioner upheld. The evidence presented did not warrant a finding that any part of the sum recovered represented a return of capital. Chalmers Cullins, 24 T.C. 322 (1955).

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Treatment Of Gains From Commodity Futures Transactions Of Manufacturing Consumer, Neil Flanagin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Taxpayer, a manufacturer of products made from corn, purchased and sold corn futures contracts as a part of its regular buying program in order to protect itself against a possible shortage of raw materials. Taxpayer contended that the gains realized on these transactions should receive capital asset treatment. The Tax Court and the court of appeals held that the gains constituted ordinary income. On appeal, held, affirmed. The transactions, though not true hedges, were entered into for business purposes and as an integral part of taxpayer's operations. Consequently, they should be treated the same as hedges, and the gains …

Taxation - Federal Income Tax - Deductibility Of Transportation Expenses Between Two Places Of Current Employment, George E. Ewing S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner was employed as a high school principal by the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he lived. He was also employed as an accounting instructor by Boston University, thirty-seven miles distant, two evenings a week for thirty-two weeks during the taxable year. He used his personal automobile to travel between the two cities and did not remain overnight in Boston. Neither employer expressly required him to incur any transportation expenses in connection with his teaching duties and there was no arrangement for reimbursement of transportation costs. The Tax Court affirmed the Commissioner's disallowance-- of a deduction for the automobile expenses …

Taxation - Federal Estate Tax - Includibilty Of Accumulated Income Of Trust Where Corpus Included In Gross Estate, Neil Flanagin S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Decedent created eight inter vivos trusts for the benefit of his immediate family, reserving the power as trustee to invade the corpus in unusual circumstances for the benefit of the beneficiaries, and to accumulate all or part of the income and add it to the corpus. The Commissioner included both the corpus and the accumulated income in the decedent's gross estate. The Tax Court held that the corpus was properly included, but not the accumulated income. On appeal by the Commissioner, held, affirmed. The accumulated income of the trusts should not be included in the decedent's gross estate as …