Bar L Ranch, Inc. v. Phinney, Civ. A. No. 66-H-367.

• Decision Date: 30 January 1969
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 66-H-367.
• Citation: 300 F. Supp. 839
• Parties: BAR L RANCH, INC., Plaintiff and Defendant in Intervention, v. Robert L. PHINNEY, Defendant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff in Intervention.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

300 F. Supp. 839

BAR L RANCH, INC., Plaintiff and Defendant in Intervention, v. Robert L. PHINNEY, Defendant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff in Intervention.

Civ. A. No. 66-H-367.

United States District Court S. D. Texas, Houston Division.

January 30, 1969.

Dougal C. Pope, Houston, Tex., for plaintiff.

Mitchell Rogovin, Asst. Atty. Gen., John O. Jones and Leonard B. Tatar, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Fort Worth, Tex., and Morton L. Susman, U. S. Atty., Houston, Tex., for defendant.

Memorandum:

INGRAHAM, District Judge.

This is a refund suit brought by Bar L Ranch, Inc., for the recovery of a delinquency penalty in the amount of $403.12. The penalty was incurred as a result of the late filing of plaintiff's income tax return for its fiscal year ending April 30, 1962. The United States intervened, seeking judgment for an additional $25,515.37 in tax, penalty, and interest allegedly due from the plaintiff for the same fiscal year.

A trial of the case before the court, sitting without a jury, was held on March 15, 1967. By memorandum dated May 17, 1967, the court held that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover the $403.12 penalty imposed for filing its return late. The court further held that the Commissioner's assessment of the additional tax and penalty was valid and timely. Bar L Ranch, Inc. v. Phinney, 272 F.Supp. 249 (S.D.Tex.1968). The decision was affirmed and remanded for a determination of the amount of the deficiency. Bar L Ranch, Inc. v. Phinney, 400 F.2d 90 (5 C.A.1968). A nonjury trial on that issue was held on November 18, 1968. Having heard the evidence presented at the trial and having considered the briefs of counsel, the court enters this memorandum, the following to constitute Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52.

I.

The facts are stipulated. Plaintiff Bar L is a Texas corporation wholly owned and controlled by Earl N. Lightfoot. Mr. Lightfoot also owns all the outstanding capital stock of Earl N. Lightfoot Paving Co. (Paving), which in turn owns all the stock of Earl Lightfoot Construction Corp. (Construction).

In the course of its business, Paving became heavily indebted to John Young Company, Inc., a supplier of paving materials. Consequently, on February 26, 1960, Paving and Lightfoot, individually, executed a promissory note for $97,059.03 to Young, secured by a chattel mortgage on Paving's equipment. Paving defaulted on its payments to Young, and on March 14, 1962, Young filed suit against Paving and Lightfoot for $118,100.07, representing the balance of $66,313.54 owed on the promissory note and $51,786.53 owed on open accounts.

On April 27, 1962, Lightfoot caused plaintiff Bar L to transfer its only asset, 51.576 acres of land and improvements, to Young. In exchange, Young transferred to Bar L the indebtedness on the promissory note and on the open accounts, but excluded therefrom accounts totaling $16,550.17. The amount excluded equaled the outstanding mortgage on the acreage, which Young assumed. As a result of the foregoing transactions, Young dismissed its lawsuit against Paving and Lightfoot.

The issue in this case centers around Bar L's treatment of the exchange of land for the note and accounts on its income tax return for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1962.

The adjusted basis of the land transferred to Young was $45,920.74. On its return, plaintiff reported the transaction as a sale of its land at a price of $50,000, resulting in a reported capital gain of $4,353.86. Plaintiff states that the selling price of $50,000 was fixed by its accountant as being what he considered a fair price and to show a small profit on the sale.

The Commissioner, in its statutory notice of deficiency, computed the increase in plaintiff's taxable capital gain on the transaction as follows:

                  Value of note and account
                    received                      $101,549.90
                  Liability on property assumed
                    by purchaser                    16,550.17
                                                  ___________
                  Amount realized                 $118,100.07
                  Adjusted basis of property
                    sold                            45,920.74
                                                  ___________
                  Capital gain corrected          $ 72,179.33
                  Capital gain reported              4,353.86
                                                  ___________
                  Capital gain increased          $ 67,825.47
                

The increase in capital gain resulted in an alleged tax deficiency of $16,956.36, which with penalties and interest totals the $25,515.37 in controversy in this suit.

II.

The only issue in this case is whether the value of the note and accounts received by the plaintiff should be valued at their face value ($118,100.07) as the defendant contends, or whether they should be valued at a figure much less than face value, as the plaintiff contends.¹ As a general rule, the Commissioner's determination is prima facie correct; the burden of overcoming the preis on the plaintiff.² In addition, it is settled that not only must the plaintiff establish a basis for judgment in its favor, it must also establish the correct value upon which the tax should have been assessed.³ Where the issue is fair market value, the plaintiff must show the proper market value of the subject of the tax, or that it had no value at all.⁴

The amount realized from a sale or other disposition of property "is the sum of any money received plus the fair market value of any property (other than money) received. The fair market value of property is a question of fact, but only in rare and extraordinary cases will property be considered to have no fair market value." Treas.Reg. Sec. 1.1001-1(a) (1968). The fact issue of valuation "is necessarily an approximation arrived at by the trial court on such factors as reasonably bear on determining the price which would reasonably be paid by the hypothetical willing purchaser to the equally hypothetical willing seller who is under no compulsion to sell. It is not necessary that the value arrived at by the trial court be a figure as to which there is specific testimony, if it is within the range of figures that may properly be deduced from the evidence. Archer v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 5 Cir., 227 F.2d 270, 273. Cf. Burford-Toothaker Tractor Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 5 Cir., 192 F.2d 633, 635." Anderson v. Commissioner, 250 F. 2d 242, 249 (5 C.A.1957), cert. denied, 356 U.S. 950, 78 S.Ct. 915, 2 L.Ed.2d 844 (1958).

With the foregoing in mind, inquiry now turns to whether the plaintiff has discharged its burden of proof as to what amount it considers the correct market value of the note and accounts should be. The court is not persuaded that it has.

Plaintiff's argument is based on its assertion that the selling price of the land transferred to Young was not in excess of $50,000. Plaintiff evidently considers this to be important because that amount, less the balance of the mortgage, leaves the $33,449.83 figure it contends represents the value of the note and accounts. Unfortunately, the plaintiff made its computations completely backward. Since Section 1001(b), Internal Revenue Code of 1954, contemplates the value of property received by the taxpayer, plaintiff's first step should have been to discern the fair market value of the note and accounts. By then adding the lien on the land to that figure, it would have arrived at a more reasonable selling price to assign to the land. But the selling price is irrelevant. Only two amounts — the land's adjusted basis (which is stipulated) and the value of the note and accounts — are material.

The court must confess that a determination as to the correctness or erroneousness of the Commissioner's decision is difficult, primarily because the court was exposed to precious little testimony going to the value of the note and accounts. While the irrelevant subject of the fair market value of the land was explored at length, counsel seemed to explore the pertinent issue of the value of the note and accounts only in broad, general terms. One apparently cogent factor did emerge, however, and...