Strimling v. Commissioner
Strimling v. Commissioner
Opinion of the Court
This appeal arises from the attempts of several taxpayers to establish “Clifford Trusts” for the benefit of their children. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 671-78 (1976). In each case the corpus of the trust consisted of $10 cash and a promissory note executed by taxpayers in amounts ranging from $10,000 to $85,000. Taxpayers made payments to the trusts of “interest” on the notes and sought interest deductions therefor.
The Tax Court, in a well-reasoned memorandum, held that under applicable
Like the Tax Court, we do not reach the question whether these trusts represented sham transactions. It is enough that the payments on the unenforceable notes fail to qualify as “interest,” which has been defined as the “amount one has contracted to pay for the use of borrowed money.” Old Colony R. Co. v. Commissioner, 284 U.S. 552, 560, 52 S.Ct. 211, 213, 76 L.Ed. 484 (1932).
AFFIRMED.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.