Lawton v. Comm'r of Internal Revenue, Docket Nos. 8341

• Decision Date: 05 April 1951
• Docket Number: 8345,8346.,8344,8343,Docket Nos. 8341,8342
• Citation: 16 T.C. 725
• Parties: LUCY M. LAWTON, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.NORMAN B. LAWTON AND HELEN S. LAWTON, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.LEONARD B. LAWTON, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.DOROTHY K. WHITON, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.VIVIAN STANLEY, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.WILLIAM BLAKLEY, PETITIONER, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.
• Court: U.S. Tax Court

16 T.C. 725

LUCY M. LAWTON, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.NORMAN B. LAWTON AND HELEN S. LAWTON, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.LEONARD B. LAWTON, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.DOROTHY K. WHITON, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.VIVIAN STANLEY, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.WILLIAM BLAKLEY, PETITIONER,

v.COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, RESPONDENT.

Docket Nos. 8341

8342

8343

8344

8345

8346.

Tax Court of the United States.

Promulgated April 5, 1951.

J. Lee Boothe, C.P.A., for the petitioners.

Philip J. Wolf, Esq., for the respondent.

Held, under the facts presented, respondent was not barred from determining a deficiency for the years in question within the statutory period even though he had previously determined overassessments for those same years.

OPINION.

Hill, Judge:

The respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners' income taxes as follows:

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                                                Taxable year Taxable year
                Docket No. Petitioner                           ended Dec.   ended Dec
                                                                31,1940      31,1941
                8341       Lucy M. Lawton                       $15,220.89   $1,224.53
                8342       Norman B. Lawton and Helen S. Lawton None         1,234.71
                8343       Leonard B. Lawton                    None         1,271.43
                8344       Dorothy K. Whiton                    None         1,261.56
                8345       Vivian Stanley                       None         1,276.20
                8346       William Blakley                      None         687.12
                

The only question for determination here is whether respondent having once determined an overassessment with respect to one of the petitioners' taxes for the year ended December 31, 1940, and with respect to all of the petitioners for the year ended December 31, 1941, may legally thereafter within the permissible period of limitations prescribed by statute determine a deficiency for these years against each of the petitioners. An issue that the deficiency determined for the year 1940 was barred by the statute of limitation was abandoned by petitioner in view of an executed waiver of such limitation by Lucy M. Lawton. Other issues have been settled by stipulation and it is agreed by the petitioners that if the only issue remaining is decided against them the respective amounts of the deficiencies are as follows:

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                                                Taxable year Taxable year
                Docket No. Petitioner                           ended Dec.   ended Dec
                                                                31,1940      31,1941
                8341       Lucy M. Lawton                       $90.29       $2,627.73
                8342       Norman B. Lawton and Helen S. Lawton None         1,827.91
                8343       Leonard B. Lawton                    None         1,864.64
                8344       Dorothy K. Whiton                    None         1,854.76
                8345       Vivian Stanley                       None         1,869.38
                8346       William Blakley                      None         1,016.58
                

The petitioners are residents of Detroit, Michigan, except William Blakley who is a resident of Dearborn, Michigan. Petitioners' income tax returns for the years involved were filed with the collector of internal revenue for the district of Michigan at Detroit.

On April 27, 1944, respondent notified petitioner Lucy M. Lawton that there had been an overassessment with respect to her income tax for the years ended December 31, 1940 and 1941. On that same date respondent notified each of the other petitioners that there was a deficiency in his or her income tax for the year ended December 31, 1940, and an overassessment for the year ended December 31, 1941.

Each petitioner, except Lucy M. Lawton, thereafter filed a petition with this Court asking for a redetermination of his or her tax liability for the years ended December 31, 1940 and 1941. In those proceedings respondent moved to dismiss as to the taxable year ended December 31, 1941, for the reason that he had not determined a deficiency for that year, and, therefore, that the Tax Court was without jurisdiction. Those motions were granted by this Court on October 4, 1944.

On March 7, 1945, the respondent reversed his previous determination that there had been an overassessment with respect to each petitioner's income tax for the taxable year ended December 31, 1941, and for Lucy M. Lawton for the taxable year ended December 31, 1940, and sent each of the petitioners a notice of deficiency for such years.

It is the position of the petitioners that the respondent is barred from assessing any deficiency in these cases because he had made a previous determination that there were overassessments for the years in question. The respondent, on the other hand, maintains that it was ‘legally proper‘ for him, having once determined an...