Clary Hood, founder of his eponymous grading and excavation company, is an American success story. Starting out of high school as a Cat skinner (that’s driving a Caterpillar excavating rig) in his father’s business, he went out on his own with “…only two employees and a hodgepodge of used equipment valued at no more than $60,000 before growing into a 150-person company with nearly $70 million in revenue by the end of [the second of the two years at issue]. ” Clary Hood, Inc., T. C. Memo. 2022-15, filed 3/2/22, at p. 4.

And it was no sleighride; Clary rode out two (count ’em, two) recessions, cutting his own pay to zero and his employees’ to as low as he could, walking away from Walmart when they tried to squeeze him, selling excess equipment, personally guaranteeing loans and completion bonds, and working 80-hour weeks.

And unlike some hard-driving entrepreneurs, he hired a first class team of executives who worked as hard as he did.

So when they had two (count ’em, two) great years back-to-back, and Clary was beginning to think of ““a changing of the guard”,” T. C. Memo. 2022-15, at p. 47, his executives thought Clary had been undercompensated for all the years he had kept the company going, and had their CPAs do a heavy-duty calculation for Year One (but not Year Two). And the Board of Directors (Clary and Mrs. Clary) voted Clary a very healthy bonus in each year. And Clary and Mrs. Clary never declared a dividend.

IRS claims excessive compensation, and whangs Clary with hefty deficiencies and five-and-ten understatement chops.

Judge Travis A (“Tag”) Greaves clearly appreciates Clary, the kind of man who made this country great. But rendering nondeductible disguised dividends deductible as salary and wages is a no go.

Now reasonable compensation is often in the eye of the beholder, beheld through multifactored lenses. While Clary’s attorneys try independent investor as the sole test, only one CCA bought that, and 4 Cir, whence Clary is Golsenized, never bought it.

Now for the reason for the headline first written at the head hereof, as my already-on-their-second-Grey-Goose-Gibson colleagues would say. Read from page 34 to page 39; those are Clary’s experts. Then read from page 39 to 42; that’s IRS’ expert, who allowed Clary more than IRS did in the SNOD. In a big-ticket case like this, where technical issues abound, one can’t just take an expert’s report and put it in evidence. One needs to do a thorough cross-examination in advance. While it’s easy to play Monday-morning quarterback, it sure looks like somebody missed a block or two here.

I won’t mention letting Clary testify about income tax considerations and the changing of the guard.

While I’m no pitchman for CLE programs, I suggest someone should run one on “Win Your Case by Woodshedding Your Experts.”

Worse, while his trusty CPAs did a great job providing good faith cover for Clary for the chops on the Year One deficiency, no evidence was proffered as to Year Two. However thin the rationale might be for Year Two, ya gotta try it.

As an old Army engineer, I agree the Cat skinners do a better job than the paperers.

Although his Bachelor of Science degree is in accounting, not engineering, Judge Christian N. (“Speedy”) Weiler is a great fan of “the greatest engine yet devised for the discovery of truth,” as Dean Wigmore put it.

Cross-examination, done properly, can unearth, unhorse, undo, and unravel, if anything can.

I’ve said it before, but it deserves repeating: everybody’s testimony looks the same on paper; nobody’s testimony looks the same on the stand.

So Judge Speedy Weiler denies summary J to Green Valley Investors, LLC, Bobby A. Branch, Tax Matters Partner, et. al, Docket No. 17379-19, filed 3/2/22. The Greeners want partial summary J that their appraisers are Section 170 qualified, and that their appraisals clear the Reg.  §1.170A-13(c)(3) bar.

IRS says no, because they want to depose said appraisers. My readers will doubtless recall said activist appraisers tried to intervene to prevent any such deposition, and got sent off. If you don’t, see my blogpost “No Likely End,” 2/11/22. In the same order, Judge Speedy Weiler sent IRS off,  when they sought to depose, because the Greeners’ good faith reliance on whatever the appraisers produced is a question for Bobby Branch, TMP, not the appraisers.

Except maybe Judge Speedy Weiler is starting to backtrack. Cross-examination needn’t happen only at trial.

“When considering the elements of a qualified appraisal and appraisers, it appears that petitioners may have satisfied these legal requirements. However, viewing the facts and inferences in a light most favorable to respondent, we cannot conclude such as a matter of law, since there remains material facts in dispute between the parties. Respondent sought to compel the depositions of Mr. V, Mr. W, and Mr. M—which petitioners objected to—and this Court denied, without prejudice, by order served on February 11, 2022. This Court acknowledges that it would likely benefit from this cross examination testimony from these witnesses prior to ruling on the issues before the Court. Accordingly, we are compelled to deny petitioners’ motions for partial summary judgment at this time.” Order, at p. 3. (Names omitted).

So does IRS move again to depose? Has IRS cleared the Rule 74(c)(1)(B) “extraordinary” bar? If IRS moves again and wins, is this going to be a mini-trial?

To quote the youtube Tennessee (ex-Niagara Falls) gearjammer, “Rev up yer engines!”

Edited to add, 3/2/22: I couldn’t agree with Judge Speedy Weiler more: any trier of fact would definitely benefit from cross-examination of every witness, fact or expert, before ruling on the issues before that trier. But where is this cross-examination to take place? In a deposition? Triers of fact don’t attend depositions. And again, everybody’s testimony looks the same on paper. Unless there’s a trial, that paper is all a trier of fact will see. So all the deposition does is give the adversary impeachment material. I fail to see how that helps the trier of fact where the expert witness must proffer his/her/their report, which is their direct testimony per Rule 143, well in advance of trial. The adversary has plenty of time to develop their cross-examination. And nobody’s testimony is the same on the stand, which is why Rule 74(c)(1)(B) there. To make sure the trier of fact can see and hear the witness on the stand.

ChJE (Chief Judge Elect) Kathleen (watch this space) Kerrigan denies both ACRIS depreciation (Section 168(a)) and bonus depreciation (Section 168(k)) to John D. Lord and Belinda Lord, T. C. Memo. 2022-14, filed 3/1/22. Congress remains obdurate: marijuana is a controlled substance, wherefore “(I)n the absence of new legislation from Congress, the legislative intent of section 280E remains unchanged; shifts in public sentiment and legalization of marijuana do not change the purpose or applicability of section 280E.” T. C. Memo. 2022-14, at p. 8.

John was a member of an LLC and shareholder in a Sub S, both of which were CO med potters. Both took ACRIS and bonus for year at issue. Neither LLC nor Sub S kept books per GAAP. Though not required to keep books per GAAP, even under the Section 471 “clearly reflect income” standard, John has no evidence to show that the method used conforms to the best practices in the medicinal herbage trade or business.

And Section 263A(2)(a) bars deducting any cost related to a 280E prohibited trade or business.

Of course, John’s Constitutional arguments are nonstarters.

So John is stuck with basic Section 471, as refined by IRS. But IRS has given him a thwacking great deficiency and chops at no extra charge.

My sources tell me that medical pot is legal in 38 (count ’em, 38) States and Our Nation’s Capital. If the Senators and Representatives of all those States wished to change the present law, they could. But this is a nonpolitical blog.

I just blogged today the case of Mike S. Wright (see my blogpost “No Contest,” 2/28/22), where the AO’s erroneous conclusion that Mike had a chance to contest made no difference. But now Scott Nicholas Shaddix, T. C. Memo. 2022-11, filed 2/28/22, has the same bœuf as his OIC was denied, but he had additional substantiation and never had an exam.

Two of his four (count ’em, four) years-at-issue get tossed, as IRS never gave him a SNOD or NOD. But notwithstanding that, IRS’ own records show Scott never got a SNOD or participated in any exam, despite what two SOs say.

And the bounce of the OIC sets up the right of Tax Court review, even if the year at issue is out.

The OS (offer specialist) who looked at Scott’s OIC was convinced his RCP was as Scott stated. However, the OS wanted Scott to sign Form 2261-C, Collateral Agreement—Waiver of Net Operating Losses, Capital Losses, and Unused Investment Credits, thereby demanding Scott waive a bunch NOLs (hi, Judge Holmes), which would trigger a bunch chops which he might otherwise offset by whatever NOLs were left after the amount of tax compromised plus the payment Scott was making on the OIC.

Scott says no.

Judge Albert G. (“Scholar Al”) Lauber says Scott should have had the chance to dispute liability and offer additional substantiation. So he remands Scott.

“If Appeals concludes on remand that petitioner is not entitled to dispute his underlying liabilities for [years at issue], it shall explain the factual and legal basis for that conclusion. If Appeals determines that petitioner is entitled to dispute these liabilities, it shall offer him the opportunity to submit relevant evidence and then resolve his underlying liability challenge. We do not reach at this time the question whether Appeals abused its discretion in declining to accept petitioner’s OIC. In addition to presenting, at the supplemental hearing, appropriate evidence concerning his underlying tax liabilities, petitioner is free to resume negotiations concerning the terms that should properly be included in such an offer.” T. C. Memo. 2022-11, at p. 9.

At least for now, that is, as Corning Place Ohio, LLC, Corning Place Ohio Investment, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, T. C. Memo. 2022-12, filed 2/28/22 survives summary J. The Cornings have the Garfield Building in Cleveland, built on Rockefeller land for the late Pres. Garfield’s sons. Judge Albert G (“Scholar Al”) Lauber extols the artistic-historical merits of this desirable property, which the Cornings are converting from office to condos, without touching anything anybody can see from the street.

The Cornings paid $6 million for this treasure, but took a historic exterior write-off of $22 million. They left off their appraiser’s exhibit with his c.v., but put that in on exam when told it was missing, and ponied up the $500 filing fee called for by Section 170(f)(13) as well, both of which IRS accepted. IRS graciously responded with a FPAA bouncing the entire deduction.

IRS wants summary J on perpetuity, the defective appraisal, and the late $500 (seriously).

Of course it’s all about the deed.

“Upon initial inspection the easement deed at issue seems to track the regulation precisely. It provides that ‘Grantee’s percentage interest shall be determined as the fair market value of this Easement as of the Recording Date divided by the fair market value of the Property as a whole as of the Recording Date.’ But respondent views as problematic the sentence that appears two lines later: ‘The values upon the Recording Date of this Deed shall be those values used to calculate the deduction for [F]ederal income tax purposes allowable by reason of this grant pursuant to Section 170(h) of the Code.’” 2022 T. C. Memo. 12, at p. 6.

But IRS says if the deduction is invalid, the easement FMV is zero, so the 501(c)(3) protector gets zilch.

But that assumes IRS is the one who determines the values, whereas the more plausible reading is that the Cornings decide, as the “Recording Date” occurs long before IRS is on the scene.

IRS claims the omitted c.v., plus the fact that the photos submitted didn’t show the roof, invalidates the appraisal. Judge Scholar Al says substantial compliance plus good faith could cure this, so save it for the trial.

Ditto the late $500.

“The statute specifies that such filing fees ‘shall be used for the enforcement of the provisions of subsection (h)’ dealing with qualified conservation contributions. § 170(f)(13)(C). Respondent contends that the deduction must be denied in its entirety because Corning Place omitted a $500 filing fee when filing its original return….

“However, Corning Place did submit the $500 filing fee as soon as this omission was brought to its attention, and the IRS accepted the filing fee. Surmising that the fee has now been dedicated to the Commissioner’s section 170(h) enforcement program, petitioner contends that it substantially complied with the statutory mandate because the statute’s purpose has been accomplished. Neither this Court nor any other court has yet considered whether section 170(f)(13) can be satisfied by substantial compliance.” T. C. Memo. 2022-12, at pp. 9-10.

And the Cornings say they filed an amended return, to which they attached the $500. But that return never made it into the record.

So save it for the trial.

or

The Great Joust

One of my nearest and dearest, and her spouse, are great fans of the local Renaissance Fair. Unfortunately, the late Marion Levine was not the owner of the one they patronize, although she did own two (count ’em, two) others. I’ll let Judge Mark V Holmes explain.

“These are a bit like state fairs, if the state were a small principality in fifteenth-century Europe populated entirely by modern people who enjoy costumed role-playing and adding extra ‘”e”s’ to words like ‘old’ and ‘fair.’” 158 T. C. 2, at p. 5.

But the late Marion owned a lot more, after she sold the family supermarket chain, and started buying real estate, trailer parks, and stocks. The late Marion also wanted to provide for her two children, who were often at odds, and her grandkids. Fortunately, she had her trusty CPA and general manager Larson, who, with the two children aforesaid, had powers of attorney. If there was any disagreement, majority ruled. Better still, she had her trusty attorney Shane Swanson, Esq., who gets a Taishoff “Good Job, First Class” as his split-dollar life insurance arrangement does a grand slalom around Sections 2036, 2037, and 2703 (with much “somber reasoning and copious citation of precedent”).

Of course, for this to work, there needs to be a client with a heavy-duty estate, with enough cash to buy a hefty insurance policy or two, children and grandkids the client wants to benefit, which children have net worths large enough, and healths good enough, to let an insurer insure their lives for heavy-duty dollars. And same cannot cramp client’s lifestyle; Marion has GRAT and QPRT and cash, so she’s in.

The case is Estate of Marion Levine, Deceased, Robert L. Larson, Personal Representative, 158 T. C. 2, filed 2/28/22.

Shane creates two trusts, a revocable for Marion and an irrevocable for children but run by Larson, organized under the beneficent SD statutes, that allow investment advisors to overrule administrators, while remaining fiduciaries. Revocable lends irrevocable $6.5 million borrowed using Marion’s assets as collateral. Irrevocable buys last-to-die life insurance policies on daughter and her spouse, because son was uninsurable, and gives revocable a note for the $6.5, payable at the greater of (i) total premiums paid or (ii) either (a) the current cash-surrender values of the policies upon the death of the last surviving insured or (b) or the cash-surrender values of the policies on the date that they were terminated, if they were terminated before both insureds died. 158 T. C. 2, at p. 17.

Irrevocable owns the policies. Revocable owns only the receivable.

Of course there’s a joust over the FMV of the receivable, because that’s in the late Marion’s estate, but that’s stiped out at $2.3 million.

IRS claims all of the $6.5 is in, because Marion and Larson could amend the deal and she’d get the policies. Except any two parties could mutually terminate any deal, and the power or right to revoke a deal doesn’t extend to power of persuasion. And Larson is fiduciary both for the children and the grand kids. If he colluded with Marion to revoke, the grandkids get nothing.

Now gift tax is another story, but we’re not going there here.

IRS loses. The stiped $2.3 is all that is subject to tax.

T&E lawyers, read the whole opinion. Trusty Shane Swanson did a real good job.

Michael S. Wright, Docket No. 7909-19L, filed 2/28/22 (the Last of the Palindromes), did in fact contest his underlying liability. The SO at the CDP concluded he hadn’t, and gave him a NOD, sustaining the NFTL.

Mike took an IRA draw, of which half went to loved-once in the ongoing CA divorce proceedings. Mike said “…his assets had been frozen by the state court overseeing the divorce proceeding, and that he had a hearing scheduled to ‘work toward settlement and division of assets.” Order, at p. 2. Mike also said his ex had gotten half, so she should be liable for half. And they were CA residents, a community property state.

Despite the IRC’s solicitude for community proprietors, Section 408(g) puts paid to that argument. The distributee of the IRA draw is on the hook for the whole boat, per Section 408(d)(1). Of course, Mike can fight it out with loved-once in CA court.

That said, the SO’s erroneous conclusion that Mike couldn’t contest liability at the CDP is not a bar to summary J for IRS. Remand won’t work here, because the only arguments Mike raised to avoid liability for the whole IRA distribution were losers.

Now before my ultra-sophisticated readers yell “QDRO!”, note Mike never raised Section 408(d)(6). Order, at p. 7. Judge Emin (“Eminent”) Toro had this one; I wonder what That Obliging Jurist, Judge David Gustafson would have done.

Would Judge Gustafson have sent this back to Appeals with a nudge nudge, wink wink, to Mike to try for a QDRO?

I don’t know, and it’s futile to speculate. But Taishoff says Mike might (could be) (maybe so) want to consider a Rule 162 reconsideration.

Hewitt is the gift that keeps on giving. And Judge Albert G (“Scholar Al”) Lauber receives even more than I, as today he deals with Montgomery-Alabama River, LLC, Parkway South, LLC, Tax Matters Partner, Docket No. 9254-19, filed 2/25/22.

My readers know I eagerly awaited fresh learning in this case. See my blogposts “‘No Comment’ – Redivivus” 2/2/21, and “It’s Turkeys All the Way Down,” 6/11/21.

Today we have the update on the latter blogpost.  Therein, I chronicled how Judge Scholar Al tossed both IRS’ and the Montys’ motions for partial summary J. But now the Montys are back, wanting renewed summary J that the improvements-out clause is copasetic because Hewitt, and they’re Golsenized to 11 Cir.

IRS folds. Looks like Judge Holmes got it right, so much so that even IRS is folding. “Highly contestable readings of what it means to be perpetual” are on their way out.

But no summary J on that point to the Montys.

“We will accordingly vacate our June 11, 2021, Order insofar as it denied petitioner’s motion for partial summary judgment on the APA question. And we will hold petitioner’s Renewed Motion for Summary Judgment in abeyance pending further developments. This is the course we have followed in other cases presenting this scenario. See, e.g., Oconee Landing Prop., LLC v. Commissioner, T.C. Dkt. No. 11814-19 (Jan. 10, 2022) (order); Wisawee Partners II, LLC v. Commissioner, T.C. Dkt. No. 6105-18 (Jan. 7, 2022) (order). Because we have denied respondent’s motion for partial summary judgment on the ‘donor improvements’ issue–for reasons unrelated to the Eleventh Circuit’s opinion in Hewitt–this case (unless settled) will proceed to trial to determine the proper valuation of the easement, whether or not the regulation is valid. Given the possibility of further appellate developments on the ‘donor improvements’ issue, we think that the most prudent course is to preserve this issue for possible consideration at trial or in post-trial briefs.” Order, at p. 2.

For Oconee, see my blogpost “Price and Value,” 1/12/22; for Wisawee, see my blogpost “Another Silt-Stir,” 1/7/22.

Can Oakbrook be far behind?

CSTJ Lewis (“Master Speller”) Carluzzo doesn’t name which software led Candice L. Busch & Randall P. Busch, Docket No. 14085-20S, filed 2/25/22 astray. But their failure to heed the old saying “take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves” costs them the Section 6662 five-and-ten chop. Candice & Ron  concede the deficiency, which resulted in the refund of all their withholding.

The software Candice used to do their year-at issue taxes only recognized the whole-dollar amount of any entry. Thus, when Candice entered the Section 163 $21,201.25 deduction (which admittedly the Buschs were entitled to), the computer printed out $2,120,125.

The Buschs claim honest mistake. And any of us could make one. I remember one year when I put the right number on the wrong line of our 1040, wrong by one line; it took a year’s worth of phonecalling to put it right.

CSTJ Lew: “As they see, they had reasonable cause and acted in good faith with respect to the entire amount of the underpayment of tax that resulted from the mistaken entry. They ask the Court to recognize, as they point out that honest mistakes are sometimes made. As a general proposition of life, we agree with petitioners on the point, and we further agree with petitioners’ suggestion that not every mistake made on a Federal income tax return should result in the imposition of an accuracy-related penalty. A person preparing a return might understandably get distracted while doing so and enter the wrong amount for an item, or if not distracted, when transferring numbers from one document to another, transpositions often occur. If a computer-based software program is being used in the process, the limitations and requirements of a software program might not be fully appreciated by the user. Any number of situations could cause an ‘honest’ mistake to be made when amounts are incorrectly reported on a Federal income tax return.” Transcript, at p. 7.

But.

“The mistaken entry is not the real problem. Their mistake was failing to review the return carefully enough to have recognized the erroneous entry before the return was filed. After all, it should go without saying, that a taxpayer’s obligation to prepare and file a Federal income tax return includes the duty to review that return to ensure that the information reported or shown on the return is accurate before the return is filed.” Transcript, at pp. 7-8.

The mortgage interest page of the return has a couple columns (hi, Judge Holmes) to the left of all the other numbers, showing the mistake. CSTJ Lew says it sticks out like a sore thumb.

And besides stiping out the Boss Hoss sign-off (they’re pro se, of course), Candice & Ron give it away on the trial. “At trial petitioners more or less acknowledge that they failed to carefully review the return before it was forwarded to the Internal Revenue Service. It was a mistake for petitioners not to review the return carefully, or as recollected by one of them, not to review it at all after it was prepared. Their failure to review the return carefully was a careless mistake that completely undermines their claim that they acted with reasonable cause and in good faith with respect to the underpayment of tax that, as it turned out, resulted from that failure.” Transcript, at pp. 8-9.

The most dangerous part of any software program is found in front of the keyboard.

I take the immortal words of Surgeon Lt.-Col. John McCrae to welcome the newest Ch J of United States Tax Court, Judge Kathleen Kerrigan. Her term of office commences 6/1/22. I am sure Judge Kerrigan will hold the torch high during her tenure.

Never before having a Taishoff cognomen, I open the field for suggestions. As usual,. no prize for the winning answer, and I reserve to myself the ultimate choice.

Here’s the official word:https://ustaxcourt.gov/resources/press/02252022.pdf