DocketNumber: No. 2653-01S
Citation Numbers: 2002 T.C. Summary Opinion 124, 2002 Tax Ct. Summary LEXIS 126
Judges: "Armen, Robert N."
Filed Date: 10/2/2002
Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 4/18/2021
*126 PURSUANT TO INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7463(b), THIS OPINION MAY NOT BE TREATED AS PRECEDENT FOR ANY OTHER CASE.
ARMEN, Special Trial Judge: This case was heard pursuant to the provisions of
Background
This case was submitted fully stipulated under Rule 122. We incorporate by reference the parties' stipulation of facts and accompanying exhibits.
Petitioners resided in Sarasota, Florida, at the time their petition was filed with the Court.
Petitioners timely filed a joint Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, for 1997. Petitioners attached to their Form 1040 the following Schedules and Forms that are pertinent to this case: Schedule A, Itemized Deductions; Schedule B, Interest and Dividend Income; Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses; Form 4797, Sales of Business Property; and Form 4952, Investment Interest Expense Deduction.
On Schedule A, petitioners claimed, inter alia, a $ 26,721 investment interest expense deduction. Petitioners calculated this amount on Form 4952, as shown below:
Part I. Total Investment Interest Expense
Line 1. Investment interest expense
paid or accrued in 1997 *128 $ 2,505
Line 2. Disallowed investment interest
expense from 1996 Form 4952, line 7 24,216
Line 3. Total investment interest expense 26,721
______
Part II. Net Investment Income
Line 4a. Gross income from property held for
investment (excluding any net gain from the
disposition of property held for investment) [1] 5,044
Line 4b. Net gain from the disposition
of property held for investment $ 114,738
Line 4c. Net capital gain from the
disposition of property held for
investment 65,721
Line 4d. Subtract line 4c from line 4b 49,017
Line 4e. Enter all or part of the amount
on line 4c that you elect to include
in investment income 0
*129 ______
Line 4f. Investment Income.
Add lines 4a, 4d, and 4e. 54,061
Line 5. Investment expenses 0
______
Line 6. Net investment income.
Subtract line 5 from line 4f. 54,061
______
Part III. Investment Interest Expense Deduction
Line 7. Disallowed investment interest
expense to be carried forward to 1998.
Subtract line 6 from line 3. 0
______
Line 8. Investment interest expense deduction .
Enter the smaller of line 3 or 6. 26,721
*130 ______
FOOTNOTE
[1] This is the total amount of petitioners' interest ($ 1,075)
and dividend ($ 3,969) income reported on Schedule B.
END OF FOOTNOTE
[8] Petitioners calculated most of the lines on Form 4952 from Schedule D, column f, where they reported the following amounts:
Line 1. Short-term capital gains and losses $ 4,002
Line 2. Enter your short-term totals,
if any, from Schedule D-1, line 2 45,015
Line 7. Net short-term capital gain or (loss) $ 49,017
Line 8. Long-term capital gains and losses (3,601)
Line 9. Enter your long-term totals,
if any, from Schedule D-1, line 9 69,322
Line 11. Gain from Form 4797, Part I * * * [1] 12,751
Line 14. Long-term capital loss carryover (141,621)
Line 16. Net long-term capital gain or (loss) (63,149)
*131 FOOTNOTE
[1] This gain resulted from petitioners' sale of a condominium
that was sec. 1250 property and, therefore, was not included as an
item of investment income. See
END OF FOOTNOTE
[9] Petitioners also reported an overall capital loss of $ 14,132 as follows:
Net long-term capital loss ($ 63,149)
Net short-term capital gain 49,017
Overall capital loss [1] (14,132)
FOOTNOTE
capital loss against ordinary income. See sec. 1211(b). Petitioners
carried forward the remaining $ 11,132 of net capital loss pursuant to
END OF FOOTNOTE
[10] In addition, petitioners calculated the $ 114,738 net gain (Form 4952, line 4b) and the $ 65,721 net capital gain (Form 4952, line 4c) as follows:
Schedule D, line 8 $ (3,601)
Schedule D, line 9 69,322
NET CAPITAL GAIN 65,721
Plus: Net Short-Term Capital Gain 49,017
NET GAIN 114,738
[11] Petitioners did not include their $ 141,621 loss carryover as an item of investment income. Petitioners determined that because their net investment income of $ 54,061 was greater than their total investment interest expense of $ 26,721, they were entitled to take a full deduction of $ 26,721 for investment interest expense.
B. Respondent's*133 Deficiency Notice
In the notice of deficiency, respondent disallowed $ 21,677 of petitioners' $ 26,721 investment interest expense deduction on the basis that the deductible amount is limited to petitioners' net investment income of $ 5,044. Respondent determined that petitioners' $ 141,621 loss carryover was an item of investment income and, therefore, resulted in zero net gain, zero net capital gain, and net investment income of $ 5,044. Respondent recalculated petitioners' Form 4952 as shown below:
Part I. Total Investment Interest Expense
Line 1. Investment interest expense
paid or accrued in 1997 $ 2,505
Line 2. Disallowed investment interest
expense from 1996 Form 4952, line 7 24,216
______
Line 3. Total investment interest expense 26,721
______
Part II. Net Investment Income
Line 4a. Gross income from property*134 held for
investment (excluding any net gain from the
disposition of property held for investment) 5,044
Line 4b. Net gain from the disposition
of property held for investment $ 0
Line 4c. Net capital gain from the
disposition of property held for
investment 0
Line 4d. Subtract line 4c from line 4b 0
Line 4e. Enter all or part of the amount
on line 4c that you elect to include
in investment income 0
Line 4f. Investment Income.
Add lines 4a, 4d, and 4e. 5,044
Line 5. Investment expenses 0
Line 6. Net investment income.
Subtract line 5 from line 4f. 5,044
*135 _____
Part III. Investment Interest Expense Deduction
Line 7. Disallowed investment interest
expense to be carried forward to 1998.
Subtract line 6 from line 3. 21,677
Line 8. Investment interest expense deduction .
Enter the smaller of line 3 or 6. 5,044
[13] Respondent's disallowance of $ 21,677 of petitioners' investment interest expense deduction increased petitioners' taxable income by $ 21,677 and resulted in a deficiency in income tax of $ 6,062. Respondent further determined that petitioners may carryforward and deduct in 1998 the $ 21,677 of investment interest expense disallowed for 1997.*136 The parties do not dispute petitioners' entitlement to an investment interest expense deduction under
The parties have not cited any case deciding the narrow legal question presented herein, and we are not aware of any such case. In resolving this issue, we rely on
The starting point for the interpretation of a statute is the language itself.
1.
For individual taxpayers,
*138 means the sum of -- (i) gross income from property held for investment (other than any gain taken into account under clause (ii)(I)), (ii) the excess (if any) of -- (I) the net gain attributable to the disposition of property held for investment, over (II) the net capital gain determined by only taking into account gains and losses from dispositions of property held for investment, plus *139 (iii) so much of the net capital gain referred to in clause (ii)(II) (or, if lesser, the net gain referred to in clause (ii)(I)) as the taxpayer elects to take into account under the clause. [Emphasis added.] [19] At issue in the instant case is the calculation of 2. Net Gain Neither Neither Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1990) nor Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1993) specifically defines the term "net gain". However, the ordinary and common usage of the term "net gain" connotes the pecuniary gain remaining after offsetting gains against losses. Presumably, a prerequisite to the existence of net gain is that the taxpayer's gains exceed the taxpayer's losses. Black's Law Dictionary 957 (7th ed. 1999) defines the term "net loss" as "The excess of all expenses and losses over all revenues and gains." By analogy, the natural, ordinary, and familiar meaning of the term "net gain" is the excess of all gains over all losses.*141 Therefore, we conclude as a matter of law that the term "net gain" for purposes of In the definition of "net long-term capital gain", the prior year's long-term capital loss that is carried forward to the current taxable year under *143 [A] long-term capital loss carryover shall be carried over to the succeeding taxable year and treated as a long-term capital loss sustained in such succeeding taxable year. The carryovers are included in the succeeding taxable year in the determination of the amount of the short-term capital loss, the net short-term capital gain or loss, the long-term capital loss, and the net long-term capital gain or loss in such year, the net capital loss in such year, and the capital loss carryovers from such year. Regs.; emphasis added.] B. Legislative History In 1976, Congress revised In 1986, Congress expanded the scope of the investment interest expense limitation and altered the calculation of the limitation by including "any net gain attributable to the disposition of property held for investment". Sec. 511(a) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA 1986), Pub. L. 99-514, 100 Stat. 2085, 2320; see H. Conf. Rept. 99-841 (1986), 1986-3 C. B. (Vol. 4) 152, wherein the conference committee articulated the intent to expand the definition of investment income "to include the same items as under * * * [TRA 1976] plus the taxable portion of net*146 gain from the disposition of investment property."*147 However, by 1992, the tax rate differential had widened, thereby encouraging individuals to structure their transactions in order to maximize their capital gain potential. Therefore, in 1993, Congress reversed the treatment of capital gains under For the reasons stated below, we conclude that petitioners' loss carryover is an item of investment income under Petitioners contend that respondent mischaracterized their investment income by including the loss carryover. Petitioners argue that First, petitioners' reliance on Zohoury is misplaced. The issue in Zohoury involved whether interest paid on an intra-family indebtedness constituted investment interest. After concluding that the taxpayers' intrafamily indebtedness interest constituted investment interest, the Court then discussed the investment interest expense deduction limitation for the limited purpose of determining the taxpayers' allowable deduction for the taxable year. The*149 Court did not address the treatment of a loss carryover for purposes of calculating investment income because the taxpayers did not have a loss carryover. Furthermore, at the time Zohoury was decided, net investment income did not include long-term capital gain. See TRA 1976 sec. 209(a), 90 Stat. 1542. Therefore, the Court in Zohoury did not undertake the type of substantive analysis of the term "investment income" that is required here. Second, petitioners' reading of the statute is at odds with the plain language of the statute. Essentially, petitioners attempt to attach the phrase "short-term gain" under the TRA 1976 amendment to the current definition of investment income, even though the phrase does not appear anywhere in *150 Lastly, petitioners argue that the reference in (1) In General. -- For purposes of subsection (a), the net investment income is the amount by which (A) the sum of the gross investment income and the capital gain net income exceeds (B) the deductions allowed by paragraph (3). Except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this section, net investment income shall be determined under the principles of subtitle A. * * * * * * * (4) Capital Gains and Losses. -- For purposes of paragraph (1) in determining capital gain net income * * * * * * * (C) Losses from sales or other dispositions of property shall be allowed only to the extent of gains from such sales or other dispositions, and*151 there shall be no capital loss carryovers. [Emphasis added.] [37] However, Furthermore, We now turn to the amount of petitioners' investment income. Petitioners carried forward from 1996 a $ 141,621 long-term capital loss. We hold as a matter of law that petitioners' loss carryover is an integral part of the equation in calculating investment income under We hold that investment income, as defined by We have considered all of the other arguments made by petitioners and, to the extent that we have not specifically addressed them, we find them to be without merit. Reviewed and adopted as the report of the Small Tax Case Division. To reflect the foregoing, Decision will be entered for respondent.
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all subsequent section and subtitle references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for 1997, the taxable year in issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.↩
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all subsequent section and subtitle references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for 1997, the taxable year in issue, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.↩
2. We cannot (and do not) decide whether petitioners are entitled to such a deduction because only the 1997 tax year is before us. Sec. 7442.↩
3. We need not decide whether sec. 7491, concerning burden of proof, applies to the present case because the facts are not in dispute and the issue is one of law. See
4. The Tax Reform Act of 1969, Pub. L. 91-172, sec. 221(a), 83 Stat. 478, 574, originally enacted
5. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Pub. L. 103-66, sec. 13206(d)(1), 107 Stat. 312, 467, amended
6. See, e.g., similar definitions under
7. We note that respondent has adopted this view and has utilized this definition on Form 4952, General Instructions, for Line 4b.↩
8. Subtitle A includes
9.
10. H. Rept. 91-413, at 72 (1969),
Where the taxpayer's investment, however, produces little
current income, the effect of allowing a current deduction for
the interest is to produce a mismatching of the investment
income and related expenses of earning that income. In addition,
the excess interest, in effect, is used by the taxpayer to
offset other income, such as his salary, from taxation.↩
11.
12. See H. Rept. 94-658 at 102, 1976-3 C. B. (Vol. 2) 695, 794; S. Rept. 94-938 at 106, 1976-3 C. B. (Vol. 3) 49, 144; Staff of Joint Comm. on Taxation, General Explanation of the Tax Reform Act of 1976 at 103 (J. Comm. Print 1976).↩
13. See also H. Rept. 99-426, 1986-3 C. B. (Vol. 2) 300 ("[investment income] also includes the nondeductible portion of net long-term capital gain on investment property."); S. Rept. 99-313, 1986-3 C. B. (Vol. 3) 805 ("[investment income] also includes the gain on investment property.").↩
14. See Staff of Joint Comm. on Taxation, General Explanation of the Tax Reform Act of 1986:
Under prior law, no part of long-term capital gains were
included in net investment income. Congress concluded that the
continuation of this rule was inappropriate because long-term
capital gains are generally taxed at the same effective rate as
ordinary income when the Act is fully phased in."
* * * * * * *
Investment income includes * * * gain (whether long-term or
short-term) attributable to the disposition of property held for
investment * * *. [Comm. Print 1987 at 263, 265.]↩
15.
16. This is the sum of Schedule D, lines 8, 9, and 14 (- $ 3,601 +$ 69,322 -$ 141,621).↩
Union Pacific Corp. v. Commissioner , 91 T.C. 32 ( 1988 )
Commissioner v. Brown , 85 S. Ct. 1162 ( 1965 )
Consumer Product Safety Commission v. GTE Sylvania, Inc. , 100 S. Ct. 2051 ( 1980 )
Rome I, Ltd. v. Commissioner , 96 T.C. 697 ( 1991 )
Texaco, Inc. v. Commissioner , 98 F.3d 825 ( 1996 )
United States v. Joseph Bryant, John Cagnina, Terry Lee ... , 671 F.2d 450 ( 1982 )
City of New York v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue , 70 F.3d 142 ( 1995 )