Carmen Centrale, Inc. v. Descartes
Carmen Centrale, Inc. v. Descartes
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court.
In 1946 the appellant corporation, Carmen Céntrale Inc., sold 5,653 shares which it had of the Finlay Bros, and Way-mouth Trading Co., for the price of $1,272,151.12, that is, ,at the rate of $225.04 per share. The Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico notified the appellant, with respect to that same year 1946, of a deficiency in its income tax .amounting to $225,352.82, which flows, almost in its entirety, from a determination made by the Secretary of the Treasury to the effect that in the sale of the shares made in 1946 by appellant it had realized a taxable gain of $494,082.52. After •a hearing, the former Tax Court decided that in effect the taxpayer had realized a taxable gain as the result of the sale, but that gain was $450,182.51. Carmen Céntrale, Inc., has appealed from this decision. The gist of the controversy before us is whether or not in the light of the pertinent provisions of our Income Tax Act appellant received taxable income.
The shares involved in this appeal are derived from the total amount of 5,853 shares of the Finlay company acquired by appellant (that is, Carmen Céntrale) from Manuel .González on October 13, 1931. The value of these shares, when acquired in 1931, was also fixed at $225.04 per share and it is precisely on this ground that the Carmen Céntrale alleges that it did not realize any taxable gain on the sale of the shares in 1946, explaining that it bought the shares from González in 1931 and sold them at the same price in 1946.
Prior to 1931 and through the transactions which we shall describe, Manuel González was the sole and exclusive owner of the entire assets and property of the sugar business of the sugar corporation Carmen Céntrale, Inc., including all the shares of the Finlay corporation, to which we have referred. As owner of these assets, Manuel González had also contracted debts connected with the business of the Carmen Céntrale, amounting to $2,647,035.80. On October 13, 1931 Manuel González transferred to the Carmen Céntrale all his assets in connection with the sugar business of the Céntrale, which amounted to $2,677,035.80, including the shares of the Finlay Co., in exchange for $28,500 in shares of the Céntrale, $1,500 in cash and in addition in exchange for the creation of an obligation on the part of the Céntrale to assume the indebtedness of González, that is, the Céntrale assumed the obligation to pay the indebtedness, amounting, as we have seen, to $2,647,035,80. As the result of this' transaction, Manuel González secured the control of 95% of the shares of the Carmen Céntrale.
Section 5(a) of the Income Tax Act, to which we shall hereinafter refer to as “the Act,” is applicable to the sale
“Except as hereinafter provided in this section, the gain from the sale or other disposition of property shall be the excess of the amount realized therefrom over the basis provided in subdivisions (a) or (5) of section 7, and the loss shall be the excess of such basis over the amount realized.” .
The essential question in this case consists in determining the basis for computing any possible gain. If the basis to be used is the cost or value of the shares acquired by Carmen Céntrale from Manuel González in 1931, then there would be no taxable excess or gain, since the cost of the shares in the transaction of 1931 coincides with the selling price of the shares in 1946. But if the basis to be used is the cost to Manuel González prior to 1931, then the situation would be different, and the judgment of the court would be correct. Let us see.
Section 7(a) (8) of the Act is applicable to the present case. It provides:
“Section 7. — (a) The basis for determining the gain or loss from the sale or other disposition of property acquired after February 28, 1913, shall be the cost of such property; except that—
“(8) If the property (other than stock or securities in a corporation a party to a reorganization) was acquired after December 31, 1923, by a corporation by the issuance of its stock or securities in connection with a transaction described in paragraph 4 of subdivision (5) of section 6 (including also, cases where part of the consideration for the transfer of such property to the corporation was property or money in addition to such stock or securities), then the basis shall be the same as it' would be in the hands of the transferor, increased in the amount of gain or decreased in the amount of loss recognized to the transferor upon such transfer under the law applicable to the year in which the transfer was made;...” (Italics ours.)
“Section 6.— (a) Upon the sale or exchange of property the entire amount of the gain or loss, determined under section 5, shall be recognized, except as hereinafter provided in this section.
“(b). ......
“(4) No gain or loss shall be recognized if property is transferred to a corporation by one or more persons solely in exchange for stock or securities in such corporation, and immediately after the exchange such person or persons are in control of the corporation; but in the case of an exchange by two or more persons this paragraph shall apply only if the amount of the stock and securities received by each is substantially in proportion to his interest in the property prior to the exchange.” (Italics ours.)
If § 7 (a) (8) were applicable, the basis as to the sale of the shares in 1946 would become the same as it would be in the hands of the transferor, that is, in the hands of Manuel González, regarding the latter as transferor of the shares to the Carmen Céntrale in 1931. Pursuant to § 7 (a) the basis for computing the gain on a sale shall be, as a general rule, the cost of the property to the vendor taxpayer, that is, to the Céntrale, as to the sale made in 1946. But §7 (a) itself provides: “except” as provided in several subsequent paragraphs, including 7(a)(8). In other words, § 7(a)(8) establishes an exception to the general rule, indicating that, under the circumstances listed in par. 8, the basis shall not be the cost of the property to the taxpayer in the transaction sought to be taxed, but the basis shall be the same as it would be in the hands of the transferor of the property to the taxpayer, that is, the cost of the property to the trans-feror, the person who originally transferred the property to the taxpayer, who in this case is Manuel González. Mertens, Law of Federal Income Taxation, Vol. 3, p. 359, chapter 21.02; Cf. Schweitzer & Conrad, Inc., 41 B.T.A. 533, 547. See, also, the cases of Birren & Son v. Commissioner of Inter
We shall examine the applicability of § 7 (a) (8). The shares in question do not belong to a corporation subject to a plan of reorganization. They were acquired after December 31, 1923, by a corporation, the Carmen Cén-trale, by the issuance of its stock or securities. With respect to the reference made in § 7(a) (8) of § 6(6) (4), Manuel González, by virtue of the transaction of 1931, remained in control of the corporation and although Manuel González did not transfer any property to the Céntrale, “solely in exchange for stock or securities in such corporation” (§ 6(6) (4)), however, § 7 (a) (8) after referring to the transaction described in § 6(6) (4) adds: “including also, cases where part of the consideration for the transfer of such property to the corporation was property or money in addition to such stock or securities.” Now, part of the price of the exchange made en 1931 between Manuel González and the Céntrale was $1,500 in cash paid by the Céntrale to Manuel González, and in addition the obligation assumed by the Céntrale to pay the indebtedness of González in connection with the business transferred. The obligation assumed by the Carmen Céntrale to pay the debts of González was analogous to the accrual of a gain to González, and was tantamount to the acquisition of property by González in his relations with the Carmen Céntrale. United States v. Hendler, 303 U.S. 564; Old Colony Trust Co. v. Commissioner, 279 U.S. 716; United States v. Boston & Maine Ry., 279 U.S. 732; Eicholz: “Some Tax Risks in Assumption of Liability” 22 Corn. L. Q. 543; Surrey, “Assumption of Indebtedness in Tax Free Exchanges,” 50 Yale L. J. 1, 5; Brons Hotels Inc., 34 B.T.A. 376; Walter F. Haass, 37 B.T.A. 948; Prentice-Hall, 1953 Federal Tax Service, Yol. 1, § 10,275; 3 Mertens, op. cit., % 20.107, p. 307. The assumption of this obligation constituted
We have already seen that, after having complied with the requirements of § 7(a) (8), the basis shall be the cost to the original transferor. But § 7(a) (8) further provides that the basis shall be “increased in the amount of gain or decreased in the amount of loss recognized to the transferor upon such transfer under the law applicable to the year in which the transfer was made.” (Italics ours.) This last clause introduces the concept of the readjusted basis, that is, in order to determine the taxable gain of Carmen Céntrale on the sale of the shares in 1946, this taxable gain shall be fixed by the difference between the selling price in 1946 and the original cost of the shares to González, adding to this cost or basis the sum received by González as gain recognized by law as taxable (to him) in selling the shares to the Carmen Céntrale in 1931. Section 6 refers to those gains which, by express statutory provision, are not recognized as taxable and are tax-free exchanges. All those gains not included in the exceptions listed in § 6 should be considered as taxable. For this reason when § 7(a) (8) provides that the basis in the hands of the transferor shall be increased in the amount of gain recognized to him by law, the question of whether the transferor had originally obtained a taxable gain, recognized to him as taxable, should be determined in the light of § 6. Stating these concepts more concretely, as they apply to the present case, it appears from the findings of fact made by the trial court and from the evidence introduced, as we shall see, that the original cost of each share of the Finlay
“The key which unlocks the door to understanding here is the general rule that both the taxpayer and the Commissioner are to be kept whole no matter how many transactions and permutations occur. Gain is in the end to be completely taxed once, but only once.”
As stated in 3 Tax Law Review 351, note 2, the cardinal rule of the statutory provisions under discussion here is to preclude a stepped-up basis where the property was acquired originally in a tax-free exchange. This forces our attention on the nature of the exchange between Manuel González and the Carmen Cfjntrale in 1931, whether or not the gain realized by González was taxable pursuant to § 6 of the Act. Section 6(a) and particularly § 6(d) (1) are applicable to the present case. These Sections provide as follows:
‘“Section 6.— (a) Upon the sale or exchange of property the entire amount of the gain or loss, determined under section 5, shall be recognized, except as hereinafter provided in this section.
(d) (1) If an exchange would be within the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), or (4) of subdivision (5) if it were not for the fact that the property received in exchange consists not only of property permitted by such paragraph to be received without the recognition of gain, but also of other property or money, then the gain, if any, to the recipient shall be recognized, but in an amount not in excess of the sum of such money and the fair market value of such other property. This paragraph shall not apply to an exchange by a corporation a party to a reorganization of property for stock or securities and other property or money in pursuance of the plan of reorganization.” (Italics ours.)
In other words, in the exchange made by González in 1931, a gain would be recognized to him of “other property” (the obligation assumed by the Carmen Céntrale to pay his indebtedness) and of money ($1,500), as to the fair market value
(1) The debts of González were not actually paid by the Carmen Céntrale. Many of the cases in which it has been held that the assumption of an obligation to pay debts constitutes property having a fair market value are cases in which the debts have been actually paid or in which the creditors have expressly released the debtor of all responsibility. See United States v. Hendler, supra,
(2) The indebtedness assumed in this case was not of a mortgage nature and the obligation to pay those debts was not duly guaranteed, this case being therefore different from Rubert v. Tax Court, 74 P.R.R. 48 and Brons Hotels, Inc., supra, where it was stated that such obligation had a fair market value because it was guaranteed.
(3) Although the right acquired by González could operate exclusively against the Carmen Céntrale, the latter being
All this explains and reconciles the apparent dichotomy of deciding, in the first place, that the assumption of Gon-zález’ debts constitutes “property” of González for the purpose of applying §7 (a) (8) to the determination that the sale basis in 1946 was the original cost to González in 1931 and of deciding, in the second place, that this “property” does not have a fair market value for the purposes of § 6 (d) (1) which provides that a gain recognized as taxable is that which is represented by a property having a fair market value, up to the amount covered by such value, that is, that if the property does not have a fair market value, the acquisition of such property shall not be recognized as taxable gain.
In brief, the assumption by the Carmen Céntrale of the debts of González in 1931, was not recognized by law as a taxable gain to Manuel González and, as a matter of fact, no tax was assessed on such gain. Therefore, the sale basis in 1946 is the original cost of the shares to González without this basis being increased in the amount of the gain of Gon-zález in 1931, because such gain was not taxable under § 6. Since Manuel González has not paid any tax on this gain, the Carmen Céntrale must pay it. The trial court acted correctly in reaching this conclusion as to the shares.
The appellant contests the determination made by the trial court as to the original cost to González of the shares (145.404 per share; $851,055.36 for 5,853 shares and $821,968.81 for the 5,653 shares in question that were sold by Carmen Céntrale in 1946). There is no controversy about
On August 17,1931 Cautiño sold to González all his shares in the property acquired according to inventory of June 30, 1931. The total price stated in the deed was $1,317,295.98; of that amount $912,473.48 corresponded to the 5,853 shares of Finlay Bros., together with 764 shares of Northern Puerto Rico Railroad Co. On June 30, 1931 an entry was made in the books of González and Cautiño adjusting the shares of Finlay to $731,870.75.
We believe that the lower court acted correctly in disregarding the adjustment made in the books of González and Cautiño because the problem in the case is not the determination of the value of the shares in the books but the cost to González by way of the two transactions in which he acquired the right of ownership over the 5,853 shares.
According to the evidence, the condominium of Cautiño (originally equal to that of González) as to the rest of the property sold to González, which, together with the shares of the Finlay Co., amounted to $912,473.48 had a value or price (the condominium of Cautiño as to the other property) of $354,068.12. Deducting this sum from the total price of $912,473.48 there is a remainder of $558,405.36 which is the price or cost to González of the condominium that Cautiño sold to him over the Finlay shares. For his own condominium over said shares González had originally paid to the Carmen Céntrale the sum of $292,650 (one half of $585,300). In order to obtain the total cost of the 5,853 shares to González we must add with respect to the shares, those $292,650, cost to González of his own condominium, and $558,405.36, cost to
The lower court was not aware, erroneously, that in order to fix the readjusted basis of the sale made by the Carmen Céntrale, it had to increase, pursuant to § 7(a) (8), the original cost of the shares to González, by any gain perceived by González recognized as taxable in 1931. We have noted that the gain derived from the sale of the shares was not recognized as taxable. But González also obtained from the sale $1,500 in cash, which constituted taxable gain. It was necessary to add part of those $1,500 to the original basis, that is, to the total cost of the shares to González. We must determine what part of that taxable gain of $1,500 could be chargeable to the shares finally sold by the Carmen Céntrale, inasmuch as González obtained the $1,500 in partial exchange not only for the shares transferred by him to the Carmen Céntrale, but also in exchange for the total assets of the business of the Carmen Céntrale transferred by him to the corporation whose assets included those shares. This is accomplished by establishing a proportion
The judgment appealed from will be modified by fixing the sum of $449,469.68 as deficiency or taxable gain realized by appellant in 1946, and as thus modified, the judgment will be affirmed.
ON MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
January 28, 1954
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case involves the determination of the taxable gain of the taxpayer Carmen Céntrale, Inc., with respect to the sale by the Corporation of 5,653 shares which it had of the Finlay Bros, and Waymouth Trading Co. In our original opinion we held that the basis for determining this gain was not the cost of the shares when they were acquired from Ma-xiuel González, but their cost to the transferor, Manuel Gon-zález, when he originally acquired them. Previously, 5,853 shares of the Finlay had been acquired in undivided co-ownership by Genaro Cautiño and Manuel González at the rate of $100 per share, that is, for the total sum of $585,300. On August 17, 1931 Cautiño sold his condominium to González, by virtue of a deed which we shall identify as deed No. 53, in exchange for the assumption by González of the indebtedness or obligations of the Carmen’s sugar business which had been previously acquired by both.
In our original opinion we held that the cost to González of the condominium that Cautiño sold to him over the shares was $558,405.36, which added to the original cost to González of his own condominium of $292,650, gives a total cost of the shares to González of $851,055.36. The Carmen Céntrale prays this Court to reconsider its opinioñ
That on June 30, 1931, i.e., before Cautiño sold to Gon-zález all his shares, both co-owners had readjusted in their books the value of the Finlay shares, increasing the original cost by an increment of $731,870.75. That increment represented a surplus accrued from the gain on the Finlay shares. The taxpayer alleges that this increment of $731,870.75 should be added to the original cost of the shares to both co-owners, of $585,300.00, resulting in a total cost of $1,317,170.75, one-half of which is $658,585.37 which is the sum alleged by the taxpayer as the cost to González of Cau-tiño’s condominium. Now then, in order to determine the basis for computing the taxable gain, the essential question to be considered is the real cost of the shares and not their intrinsic value. Although their readjusted value is $658,585.37, it does not imply that this sum was the cost to González, that is, the price that González paid for them. But the taxpayer alleges that from the deed under which Cautiño sold his condominium to González (No. 53 of August 17, 1931)' and from the inventory attached therewith, it appears that this value was actually the cost to González. Let us examine the documents.
Cautiño sold to González his condominium in the properties of the Carmen Céntrale, including his condominium over the shares, on August 17, 1931, by deed No. 53, after readjusting in the books the value of the shares. At that time the entire assets of the sugar business of the Carmen amounted to 2,677,035.80, including the increased value of the shares. The obligations amounted to $2,634,291, that is a difference of approximately $43,000 of the assets over the liabilities. Then in dee.d No. 53, from Cautiño to Gon-zález, it is stated:
(2) That “this sale is executed for the price of $1,317, 295.98 which is one-half of the sum which represented on June 30, 1931, retroactive date for the- effects of this deed, the indebtedness contracted by the parties hereto in the sugar business referred to herein according to the balance sheet attached to this document and ... González ... the purchaser, withholds said sum to be used in the payment of said indebtedness, which he totally assumes, as each liability becomes due, likewise binding himself to pay any other debt and obligations incurred in the aforesaid business up to the date of execution hereof although said debt or obligation does not appear in the liability memorandum attached herewith. The aforesaid liabilities include the amount which the parties hereto owe of the deferred price for which they acquired the property object of the deed of sale, this amount being evidenced by promissory notes in circulation and the purchaser binds himself to pay such promissory notes punctually on maturity, etc.”
Notice should be taken before going any further, that the selling price is one-half of the obligations or liabilities, according to the balance sheet attached to the document. This attached balance disclosed a liability of $2,634,000, (one-half is $1,317,000) and there is an item included in the liabilities which reads: “Finlay Bros.... $513,558.20.” Perhaps, these are not the shares, but rather the obligations of the Finlay, but that is the sole reference to Finlay appearing in the balance and in the inventories attached to deed No. 53.
It is further stated in the deed that “the selling price is distributed' among the property sold as follows:
Item A
(1) Condominium in property-A.. $350,000.
(2) In property B ...100.
*338 (3) In property C. 14, 800.
(4) In property D. 1, 400.
(5) In property E. 3,000.
(6) In property F... 4,500.
(7) In property G. 3,600.
(8) In property H. 1,500.
(9) In mortgage credits. 25,922.50”
There is an inventory attached to deed No. 53 (Cautiño to González), but in said inventory no reference is made to those properties and mortgage credits nor to their value, nor does the deed mention the inventory in relation to those properties and credits. At any rate, the total price of Cau-tiño’s condominium in those properties and credits, as set forth in the deed, is $404,822.50, from a total of $1,317,295.
The deed further contains a second item B which includes the 5,853 Finlay shares, but without giving a specific price for the condominium over those shares. In said item B, a lump sum of $912,473.48 is allocated ($1,317,295 less item A of $404,822.50) to different properties which include the 5,853 shares, 764 shares of another corporation, the Northern, lease rights, franchises, contracts with farmers for planting and grinding of sugar, sugar plantations, materials and goods in stock, cattle and horses, carts, plows, tractors, farming implements, tools, fixed and portable tracks, rolling material, furniture, scales, bridges and switches, laboratory material and telephone lines and accounts and credits receivable, “as set forth in the balance accounts and inventories attached ■to this deed, in the amount of $912,473.48.”
• The only problem involved in the motion for reconsideration refers to how much it cost González to buy Cautiño’s condominium over the shares, that is, the price of the shares between Cautiño and González. Item B of deed No. 53 states that the shares and other property have a price of $912,473.48. In the inventory attached to deed No. 53 the shares are not mentioned, nor their price established. The only thing mentioned is the price of the other properties, in
In the second place, the increment of $731,000 in the value of the shares refers to the value, but not to the actual price paid by González for Cautiño’s condominium over the shares. It is not necessarily the cost. The price is established exclusively from deed No. 53 between Cautiño and González and from the inventory attached to that deed, which is the price stated in the opinion.
The taxpayer alleges that the prices set forth in deed No. 53 were for registration purposes. In the first place, the total price mentioned in deed No. 53 is $1,137,000, which represents half of the liabilities. This liability had always remained the same, even under the previous readjustment. So that this total price is invariable, unless they are false prices, assuming that they are and have always been so, beginning with the deed of 1927 whereby González and Cau-tiño bought the Carmen, i.e., that the prices in the deed of 1927 have also been false, for registration purposes. Assuming that they were always false, the taxpayer did not establish the true prices as to the other properties. Therefore, we would have to confine ourselves to what is established from deed No. 53 in question. Besides, the only recordable
The motion for reconsideration will be denied and our judgment of August 7, 1953 ratified.
The above-cited case of United States v. Hendler dealt with the reorganization of two corporations, in which one assumed and paid the debts of the other. The essence of the opinion is that Hendler’s debt was' absolutely discharged by the payment thereof. In view of the ruling in the Hendler case, the United States Congress amended the Federal Income Tax Act by adding $ 112 (7c) to restrict the doctrine of the Hendler case and providing that the assumption of debts should not be regarded as “property or money” in the different situations expressly enumerated in the statute. 26 USCA 112(7;) (4, 5, 10); 3 Mertens, op. eit., Chapter 20.107, p. 307; Prentice-Hall, op. eit., § 10,275, third paragraph.
Naturally, taxation problems should be determined in the light of tax statutes and not the Civil Code. But to define what constitutes “property” and the validity of the transfer of said property it is proper to resort collaterally to the substantive law where the matter has not been covered by the Income Tax Act.
The operation would be:
5,853 shares: $1,317,170.75 X $1,500.00 Total asset: $2,677,635.80
The result is then divided by 5,853 shares in order to find the sum for each share, which is then multiplied by 5,653 (shares).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.