Procedural Issues
Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues / Tax Opinions

DelPonte v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 7

On May 5, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in DelPonte v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 7). The primary issue presented in DelPonte v. Commissioner was whether the IRS’s Cincinnati Centralized Innocent Spouse Operation (CCISO) or the IRS’s Office of Chief Counsel has the final authority to determine whether taxpayer was entitled to innocent spouse relief when such relief is first raised as an affirmative defense in a Tax Court petition. Held: Chief Counsel, all the way. Background to DelPonte v. Commissioner Michelle DelPonte separated from her ex-husband, William Goddard, in 2000. She is still, more than twenty years later, trying to untangle his affairs from her own. What concerns the Tax Court is her effort to be relieved of her liability on the joint tax returns she filed with Goddard while they were married. The part of the IRS bureaucracy that usually handles these sorts of requests…

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June 15, 2022
Business Related Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Treece Financial Services Group v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 6

On April 19, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in Treece Financial Services Group v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 6). The primary issue presented in Treece Financial Services Group v. Commissioner was whether the Tax Court had jurisdiction to determine whether Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) entered into computation of taxes owed by the taxpayer. Held: Indeed, it did. Treece Financial Services Group v. Commissioner in a Nutshell Treece Financial Services Group, a corporation, petitioned for review of a notice of employment tax determination under IRC § 7436. The parties agree that the IRS properly determined that Mr. Treece is an employee of Treece Financial Services Group, but they dispute the proper amount of employment tax under that determination. Treece Financial Services Group asserts that the amount should be computed using the IRS’s Announcement 2012-45, and that it is entitled to use the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP)…

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June 14, 2022
Business Related Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

BATS Global Markets Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 5

On March 31, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in BATS Global Markets Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 5). The primary issue presented in BATS Global Markets Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner was whether the petitioner's transaction fees, routing fees, and logical port fees qualify as domestic production gross receipts (DPGR) for the purpose of calculating deductions pursuant to IRC § 199. Held: No dice, BATS. Procedural Background to BATS Global Markets Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner The IRS issued a notice of deficiency determining deficiencies of $900,000 (2011), $1.3 million (2012), and $1.4 million (2013). Factual Overview of BATS Global Markets Holdings Inc. v. Commissioner During the years in issue (2011-2013) BATS Global Markets Holdings, Inc. (Bats Global) owned 100% of BATS Exchange, Inc., BATS Y-Exchange, Inc., and BATS Trading, Inc. It was the common parent of a group of corporations (collectively, the petitioner) which filed consolidated…

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June 13, 2022
International Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Aptargroup Inc. v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 4

On March 16, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in Aptargroup Inc. v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 4). The primary issue presented in Aptargroup Inc. v. Commissioner was whether the taxpayer was required to characterize stock in controlled foreign corporation using gross income method. Held: Yes, indeed it was. Aptargroup Inc. v. Commissioner in a Nutshell Aptargroup Inc. owns stock in a controlled foreign corporation (CFC). The CFC apportioned interest expenses under the modified gross income method. Aptargroup claimed a foreign tax credit under IRC § 904 as to the tax imposed on the income from the CFC. Aptargroup characterized its stock in the CFC (in order to determine the amount of the foreign tax credit) using the asset method. This, dear readers is the crux of the issue: Aptargroup did not use the same method that the CFC used for interest expense apportionment. The IRS issued a…

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June 10, 2022
Procedural Issues
Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues / Tax Opinions

Lewis v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 3

On March 3, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in Lewis v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 3). The primary issues presented in Lewis v. Commissioner were (i) whether the letter that the taxpayer sent to the IRS constituted a “qualified offer” (sorry, Gina, but no) and (ii) whether the IRS’s position in the litigation was “substantially justified” (don’t quit your job at the diner, because the position was justified…substantially). Lewis v. Commissioner in a Nutshell The taxpayer, Gina Lewis, worked the diner all day, working for her man (Tim—not Tommy, as the Tax Court had initially guessed). She brought home her pay for love, for love.[1] And where did this get Gina? On the hook, jointly and severally, for Tim’s income tax deficiencies. Gina petitioned for innocent spouse relief after the IRS issued notice of deficiency to her and former spouse Tim. Following the resolution of the related…

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June 9, 2022
Income Tax Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Sherwin Community Painters Inc. v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2022-19

On March 9, 2022, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Sherwin Community Painters Inc. v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2022-19). The primary issues presented in Sherwin Community Painters Inc. v. Commissioner were whether the taxpayer was entitled to certain substantiated certain expenses it claimed were “ordinary and necessary business expenses” and whether Swanette Ward received constructive dividends from Sherwin. Also at issue is how obstinate the IRS can actually be. (Hint: More than you can imagine.) Held: Mostly. Held also: The IRS was a recalcitrant ass in this case. Sherwin Community Painters Inc. v. Commissioner in a Nutshell The IRS determined a deficiency against Sherwin Community Painters, Inc. (Sherwin), of $8,224 and an accuracy-related penalty under IRC § 6662(a) for the taxable year 2016. The IRS also determined a deficiency against Robert Ward, Jr., and Swanette Ward of $4,890 and an addition to the tax under…

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June 8, 2022
Estate Tax Issues / Memorandum Opinions / Tax Opinions

Estate of Levine v. Commissioner
158 T.C. No. 2

On February 28, 2022, the Tax Court issued the full opinion in Estate of Levine v. Commissioner (158 T.C. No. 2). The primary issues presented in Estate of Levine v. Commissioner were whether the taxpayer made a voluntary inter vivos transfer (yep); whether the taxpayer retained the right—either alone or in conjunction with her attorney-in-fact—to designate who could possess or enjoy property transferred to irrevocable life insurance trust or the income from it (thereby precluding inclusion of cash-surrender values of policies in taxpayer's estate) (nope); whether the taxpayer had a unilateral power to terminate split-dollar life insurance policies held by irrevocable trust (thereby precluding inclusion of policies' cash-surrender values in gross value of taxpayer's estate for estate tax purposes) (nope and nope); and whether IRC § 2703 (disregarding restrictions on right to sell or use property in determining its value) applied (no ma’am, Marion, it did not). Estate of Levine…

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June 8, 2022