Goosen v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, 23323–09.

• Decision Date: 09 June 2011
• Docket Number: No. 23323–09.,23323–09.
• Citation: 136 T.C. No. 27,136 T.C. 547
• Parties: Retief GOOSEN, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER of INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. Tax Court

136 T.C. 547

136 T.C. No. 27

Retief GOOSEN, Petitioner

v.COMMISSIONER of INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent.

No. 23323–09.

United States Tax Court.

June 9, 2011.

P, a professional golfer, entered into endorsement agreements with sponsors Acushnet, TaylorMade, Izod, Upper Deck, Electronic Arts and Rolex. P agreed to allow all sponsors to use his name, face, image and likeness in advertising and marketing campaigns worldwide. P also agreed to perform some services for the sponsors. All endorsement agreements paid P a base endorsement fee. Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod prorated P's base endorsement fee if he did not annually play in a specified number of golf tournaments. Moreover, Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod provided bonuses to P for achieving a specific finish in a PGA or European Tour tournament or a specified ranking on the World Golf Rankings.

P characterized the endorsement fees and bonuses from Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod as 50 percent personal services income and 50 percent royalty income on his nonresident Federal income tax returns for 2002 and 2003. P characterized the endorsement fees from Upper Deck, Electronic Arts and Rolex as 100 percent royalty income. P reported approximately seven percent of the total endorsement income as U.S.-source income. R determined that P should have characterized the endorsement fees and bonuses from Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod as 100 percent personal services income. R also reallocated a larger percentage of P's endorsement fees as U.S.-source income.

1. Held: The endorsement fees and bonuses P received from Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod are allocated 50 percent to personal services income and 50 percent to royalty income.

2. Held, further, the royalty income P received from Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod is 50 percent U.S.source income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. The royalty income P received from Rolex is 50 percent U.S.-source income not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. The royalty income P received from Upper Deck is 92 percent U.S.source income not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business. The royalty P received from Electronic Arts is 70 percent U.S.-source income not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business.

3. Held, further, P does not benefit from any provision under the 1975 or the 2001 U.S.-U.K. income tax treaty.

Aaron H. Bulloff, Stephen L. Kadish, and Matthew F. Kadish, for petitioner.

Lindsey D. Stellwagen, Warren P. Simonsen, Nina E. Chowdhry, and Jeffrey E. Gold, for respondent.

KROUPA, Judge:

Respondent determined that petitioner, a non-domiciliary United Kingdom (U.K.) resident, had Federal income tax deficiencies from income he received from worldwide endorsement agreements for 2002 and 2003 (the years at issue).¹ Respondent determined a $20,224 deficiency for 2002 and a $144,474 deficiency for 2003.

After concessions, there are three issues for decision. The first issue is whether endorsement fees and bonuses petitioner, a U.K. resident, received from worldwide endorsement agreements with Acushnet Company (Acushnet), TaylorMade Golf Company, Inc. (TaylorMade) and Izod Club, a division of Oxford Industries, Inc. (Izod) should be characterized as solely personal services income, solely royalty income or part personal services income and part royalty income. We hold that the income is part personal services income and part royalty income. We next consider whether any income we allocated as royalty income from the Acushnet, TaylorMade and Izod endorsement agreements as well as the royalty income petitioner received from worldwide endorsement agreements with Upper Deck Company, LLC (Upper Deck), Montres Rolex S.A. (Rolex) and Electronic Arts Inc. (Electronic Arts) is from sources within the United States. We hold that a portion of the royalty income from all the endorsement agreements is U.S.-source income. We finally consider whether petitioner, a U.K. resident, may benefit from provisions under the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains, U.S.U.K., Dec. 31, 1975, 31 U.S.T. 5668 (1975 U.S.-U.K. tax treaty), or the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains, U.S.-U.K., July 24, 2001, Tax Treaties (CCH) par. 10,901 (2001 U.S.-U.K. tax treaty) (together, the U.S.-U.K. tax treaties).² We find he does not.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found. We incorporate the stipulation of facts and the accompanying exhibits by this reference. Petitioner, a citizen of South Africa, resided in the United Kingdom at the time he filed the petition.

Petitioner is a professional golfer. He began his professional golf career on the South African Tour in 1988. He earned “Rookie of the Year” in his first year on the South African Tour, and he developed as one of the better golfers in South Africa. Petitioner's success in South Africa allowed him to earn his tour card ³ on the European Tour in 1991. Petitioner met his wife, a citizen of the United Kingdom, shortly after joining the European Tour, and the two decided to make London, England, their permanent residence.

Petitioner was required as a member of the European Tour to play in a minimum of 11 European Tour tournaments each year to maintain his tour card. Petitioner annually exceeded that amount. He traveled to European Tour tournaments throughout Europe as well as Australia and the Far East. Petitioner became one of the most successful and popular golfers on the European Tour. He ranked as the number one golfer on the European Tour's money list in 2001 by earning the most prize money.

Petitioner's Golf Career in the United States

Though popular on the European Tour, petitioner was unknown in the United States leading up to the years at issue. Petitioner rarely played in the United States, and he did not have a U.S. Professional Golf Association Tour (PGA Tour) card. He instead focused on maintaining his status and high ranking on the European Tour. Petitioner's career took a dramatic upswing when he won the 2001 U.S. Open golf tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The U.S. Open is one of four prestigious Major Championships in professional golf,⁴ and professional golfers are largely remembered for how they perform in these tournaments. Petitioner's profile skyrocketed both in the United States and globally after winning the U.S. Open.

Petitioner automatically obtained his PGA Tour card when he won the U.S. Open. He was required, as a member of the PGA Tour, to play at least 13 PGA Tour tournaments a year. Petitioner thereafter began to play in the United States more regularly to maintain his PGA Tour card. Petitioner was able to satisfy the tour card requirements of both the PGA and European Tours because many tournaments in which he played were classified as both PGA Tour tournaments and European Tour tournaments. Petitioner played in approximately 36 tournaments a year during the years at issue, spending most of his time in the United States and Europe.

IMG and Petitioner's Financial Management

Petitioner hired IMG World, Inc. (IMG), an international sports media entertainment group, to represent him and manage his career and finances. IMG was started in the 1960s with a handshake between Attorney Mark McCormack and golf legend Arnold Palmer. IMG revolutionized sports marketing by promoting athletes for endorsement deals with sponsors. Sponsors paid to have the athlete's name, face, image and likeness (name and likeness) associated with the sponsor. IMG's approach allowed clients to be concerned only with playing their respective sports. IMG would take care of the rest. IMG therefore expanded its role from simply promoting its clients to managing all its clients' business and personal affairs.

IMG also included tax planning strategies as part of its financial planning for its clients. IMG developed a strategy for its clients that was intended to reduce their worldwide income taxes if they were U.K. residents like petitioner. This strategy was designed to keep certain income out of the United Kingdom. To effectuate this plan, IMG directed its U.K.-resident clients to enter into employment contracts with two IMG-controlled entities, European Sports Promotions Limited (ESP) and European Tournament Organizers Limited (ETO). All income from the clients' sports-related activities or endorsements was directed to either an ESP (U.K.income) or an ETO (non-U.K.income) bank account in Liechtenstein.⁵ The clients' endorsement earnings and prize winnings inside the United Kingdom were contracted and paid to ESP (U.K.income), and those outside the United Kingdom were contracted and paid to ETO (non-U.K.income). Each entity would issue the client a fixed annual salary and bonus. The client's bonus would not be paid until the entity subtracted expenses, including the client's salary, administrative fees and IMG management fees.

Petitioner's agent at IMG, Greg Kinnings (Mr. Kinnings), determined that petitioner would be a prime candidate for entering into employment agreements with ETO and ESP. Petitioner agreed to be employed by ESP and ETO. Petitioner's golf-related earnings, including endorsement income, prize money and appearance fees, were directed to ETO for the non-U.K. income or ESP for the U.K. income. ETO (non-U.K.income) transferred petitioner's salary and bonus to his Guernsey ⁶ bank account, and ESP (U.K.income) transferred petitioner's salary and bonus to his London bank account. This structure ensured that petitioner's U.K.-source income would be repatriated to the United Kingdom and his non-U.K.-source income would remain outside the United Kingdom. The U.K. tax authorities approved this employment structure.

Marketing of Petitioner's Name and Likeness

IMG also successfully marketed petitioner to sponsors during the...