DocketNumber： No. 6169-03
Citation Numbers： 91 T.C.M. 860, 2006 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 40, 2006 T.C. Memo. 40
Judges： "Haines, Harry A."
Filed Date： 3/13/2006
Status： Non-Precedential
Modified Date： 11/21/2020
MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION
HAINES, Judge: Respondent determined the following deficiencies in petitioners' Federal income taxes:
Tax Year Ended Deficiency
______________ __________
July 31, 1994 $ 467,424
July 31, 1995 4,837,121
July 31, 1996 9,503,991
After concessions, *41 the issues for decision are: (1) Whether Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is a reasonable allocation method for purposes of
During the years in issue, Phillip F. Anschutz (Mr. Anschutz) was the direct, sole owner of Anschutz Company. During the years in issue, Anschutz Company was the parent corporation of an affiliated group of corporations, as defined by
Mr. Anschutz moved Qwest's headquarters from San Francisco to Denver in 1994 in order to have the company near his office for monitoring and control purposes. During the years in issue, Mr. Anschutz was in almost daily contact with Qwest executives. Mr. Anschutz had final approval on any decision by Qwest that involved investment.
II. Evolution of*43 Qwest's Telecommunications Business
While its charter indicated that it would provide telecommunications services, Qwest's initial involvement in the telecommunications business was not until 1987, when it acted as a liaison between Southern Pacific and MCI Telecommunications Corporation (MCI). Qwest's business operations further evolved through the years as it began constructing fiberoptic conduit systems. Qwest first worked as a general contractor and hired subcontractors to do the majority of the work. By the end of the years in issue, Qwest performed most of the construction on its own.
A. Development of Conduit-Encased Fiberoptic Cable
Prior to the late 1980s, long-distance carriers often buried cable directly in the ground. In the late 1980s, the idea of encasing fiberoptic cable *44 at appropriate intervals along the conduit route.
As fiberoptic cable became the preferred medium for the long- distance transmission of data, Southern Pacific developed the idea of using its railroad rights-of-way to lay fiberoptic cable for long- distance data carriers. The use of Southern Pacific's railroad rights-of-way was advantageous because: (1) The easements already existed and thus negotiations with private owners and government agencies for such rights were not necessary; *45 (2) specialized equipment could ride the rails and be used to perform the installation efficiently and economically; (3) railroad rights-of-way are often the most direct routes between locations; and (4) railroad rights-of-way are more secure than other rights-of-way, such as those for highways, telephone poles, or overhead power transmission lines.
In 1987, Qwest first participated in a conduit project, acting as a liaison between Southern Pacific and MCI. Qwest obtained an easement for MCI for the right to install conduit and fiber on a Southern Pacific right-of-way from Houston to Los Angeles. MCI performed its own construction on this route. In exchange for the easement, MCI paid approximately $ 13 million in cash and provided capacity in the form of 36 DS-3s along the route. *46 and pulling fiber, as discussed infra, Qwest used Southern Pacific's railway and equipment in the construction process. Qwest used a specialized rail plow to install the conduit along the railroad rights-of-way. The rail plow functioned as part of a plow train, which consisted of locomotives, rail plow cars, and several supply cars. The supply cars carried the conduit and other construction materials needed for the installation and continuously fed these supplies to the rail plows.
As the locomotives pulled the plow train forward, the rail plow dug a trench and simultaneously lowered and buried the conduit. The rail plow could install multiple conduits at the same time. The rail plow installed the conduits at a depth of approximately 42 to 56 inches and at a distance of 8 feet from the nearest rail. The rail plow also buried a warning tape approximately 1 foot from the surface and backfilled the land to its original contour. The plow train could install conduits up to 4 miles a day, depending on the availability of track time and the severity of the terrain.
In situations where a rail plow could not be used, Qwest used a tractor plow, backhoe, or other similar machinery. If the conduit*47 needed to be laid across a bridge or through a tunnel, the conduit was typically placed in a galvanized steel pipe and attached to the side of the bridge or along the tunnel floor or wall. If the conduit needed to be run under a river or other obstruction, regular or directional boring techniques were used to bore small tunnels through which the conduit could be fed.
After the conduit was buried along a railroad track or other right-of-way, or attached to a bridge or tunnel, Qwest could pull fiber through the conduit using hand holes.
2. The Coast Route Project
In December 1988, Qwest began its first conduit installation project along the Coast Route, a route running from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Qwest acted primarily as a general contractor and subcontracted out most of the construction work to third parties. The Coast Route project was performed for several long-distance carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, WilTel, and MCI. All of the Coast Route customers did not purchase conduit along the entire route, and each customer's fiberoptic cable was pulled only through the portions of the conduit purchased by that customer. However, Qwest laid multiple conduits along the entire route*48 for its own potential future use or sale. Up to this point, installations of multiple conduits had not been done in the telecommunications industry.
As a result of the project, Qwest obtained several unconnected segments of empty conduit along the Coast Route. From the long- distance carriers, Qwest received cash compensation and capacity in the form of 18 DS-3s along MCI's fiberoptic cable. Qwest offered the DS-3 capacity as a wholesale opportunity to long-distance carriers.
On March 14, 1991, Qwest purchased an installed conduit system from MCI involving the Union Pacific right-of-way from Wells, Nevada, to Salt Lake City, Utah.
On September 30, 1991, Qwest entered into an easement agreement with Southern Pacific. The agreement gave Qwest a nonexclusive easement along Southern Pacific's rights-of-way for the construction and operation of fiberoptic conduit systems. Qwest also entered into additional easement agreements with other railroads and parties both before and during the years in issue.
During the years in issue, documents titled "five-year plans" *49 were authored within Qwest. The five-year plan for 1995 through 1999 (the 1995 five-year plan) stated "The primary business focus of [Qwest] is to create a nationwide, owned, facility based network and utilize it to carry profitable, revenue traffic." The 1995 five-year plan also stated that Qwest would build 6,617 miles of fiberoptic conduit for its own use and 15,502 miles for sale to third-party customers. The 1995 five-year plan estimated that, if the conduit were sold at an average of $ 30,000 per conduit mile, $ 465 million of revenue would be generated. The $ 30,000 figure was arrived at by looking at prior sales, and the value could be realized only if the conduit was actually sold.
Qwest hired Coopers & Lybrand LLP (CLC), a professional consulting firm, to review its 1995 five-year plan. CLC determined: (1) The demand for long-distance conduit builds had slowed; (2) the country did not need another nationwide fiberoptic network; (3) the creation of another network could not be justified in terms of capacity or cost; (4) Qwest would be at a cost disadvantage to existing nationwide carriers, such as MCI, AT&T, and Sprint; (5) Qwest's installation of additional conduit would*50 be "very risky"; and (6) Qwest's revenue projections "may be optimistic".
Qwest's Board of Directors minutes for the period January 22, 1994, through December 23, 1996, do not contain any resolutions approving any of the five-year plans.
During the years in issue, Qwest engaged in 21 construction projects, 19 of which were for third-party customers. *51 During the years in issue, Qwest performed the majority of the construction, only subcontracting out small portions of the work. In four construction projects, Qwest installed conduit or pulled fiber for third-party customers without retaining assets for itself (third- party-only projects). *52 The entire conduit and fiber became the property of the customer once the contract was completed.
In addition to installing conduit for its customers, Qwest installed additional conduits for its own potential future use or sale. The rail plow allowed Qwest to install multiple conduits at the same time and at a relatively modest additional cost. Generally, the only additional costs of adding the retained conduits were the cost of the material, including the conduit and hand holes, and the cost of handling that material. These costs were mostly covered by profits from the third-party customer contracts.
At the time of installation, Qwest did not have customers lined up to purchase the retained conduit. With rare exception, Qwest always kept at least one conduit for itself in connection with all of its conduit projects.
Petitioners have conceded the adjustments to the MFS Los Angeles, MFS Dallas, and MCI Dillard-Myrtle Creek projects. See supra note 1. The nine conduit installation projects still in issue, in chronological order, are: (1) MCI San Jose to Reno, and Reno to Wells; (2) MCI Salt Lake City to Denver; (3) Viacom San Francisco Bay; (4) MCI Denver to El Paso; (5) MCI Kansas*53 City to St. Louis; (6) US West Phoenix to Mesa; (7) MCImetro Dallas; (8) US West Grants to Gallup; and (9) MFS Anaheim. The third-party customer contracts for these nine conduit installation projects constitute long-term contracts as defined by
2. IRU Projects
By November 1995, Qwest was in negotiations with WorldCom Network Services, Inc. (WorldCom), for rights to use a limited number of fibers in fiberoptic cable installed along particular routes. On February 26, 1996, Qwest granted WorldCom an IRU in 24 dark fibers over three routes: (1) WorldCom Dallas-Houston; (2) WorldCom Denver-El Paso; and (3) WorldCom Santa Clara-SLC. Pursuant to the IRU agreement, Qwest pulled fiber for the three IRU projects, as described above.
In addition to pulling fiber for WorldCom, Qwest also pulled fiber for its own potential future use or sale. Instead of pulling 24-fiber fiberoptic cables, Qwest pulled cables with a larger number of fibers. While WorldCom had an IRU in 24 of the fibers, Qwest retained control over the remaining fibers in the same cable.
The IRU agreement constitutes a long-term contract as defined by
3. Projects With No Third-Party Customer *55 funded by internal financing.
In the Dallas-Houston project, Qwest installed conduit, pulled fiber, and lit the fiber for its own account. Qwest began construction of the Dallas-Houston project in February 1995 and completed it in May 1997. At the time Qwest began the Dallas-Houston project, Qwest anticipated that WorldCom Network Services, Inc., d.b.a. WilTel (WilTel), would purchase the conduit, which it in fact did. The Dallas-Houston project resulted in approximately 270 conduit miles and a total construction cost of $ 25,249,137.
During the years in issue, Qwest also provided telecommunication services, which included: (1) Selling of transmission capacity in bulk, including both dedicated line and switched services, to inter-exchange carriers and competitive access providers; and (2) providing long-distance services to a customer base of end users in the business, education, and government sectors, also known as commercial services. Qwest provided its telecommunication services primarily using capacity it received: From leases with other long- distance carriers; from certain of its customers' fiberoptic cables; from the digital microwave transmission*56 network acquired through its purchase of Qwest Transmission, Inc. (Qwest Transmission), in January 1995; and from the fiberoptic systems it owned along the Dallas-Houston and CalFiber routes.
Qwest initially started to market its switched services and commercial services by hiring a sales force in 1994 and 1995. The focus was on cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Denver, and Salt Lake City. By 1996, Qwest cut back on the sales activities because maintaining the sales staff and offices and leasing transmission capacity from other long-distance carriers became too expensive.
1. Advantis
On September 10, 1993, Qwest entered into an asset and stock purchase agreement with Advantis, a communications network joint venture of IBM and Sears Roebuck Company (Sears), carrying Sears and IBM voice and data traffic worldwide. Pursuant to this agreement, on November 5, 1993, Qwest sold Advantis substantially all of its then- owned capacity rights in the fiberoptic cables owned by MCI along with certain realty and related equipment. In exchange, Qwest received $ 185 million and the right to use the capacity sold to Advantis, if not needed by Advantis, free*57 of charge in order to provide service to Qwest's dedicated line customers for the 12-month period following the date of the sale to Advantis. Qwest also agreed to lay conduit and pull fiber between Los Angeles and Sacramento and provide Advantis with a certain portion of this capacity.
2. Qwest Transmission
Qwest Communications, Inc. and Subsidiaries (Qwest Communications) were in the telecommunications business as a carrier's carrier, providing digital private line service to the long-distance industry since 1981. On April 6, 1995, Qwest Communications changed its name to Qwest Transmission. *58 same time as the Qwest Transmission acquisition, Qwest also acquired Qwest Properties, Inc., a lessor of a telecommunications switching facility *59 of Directors agreed to enter into leases with Five Star Telecom, Inc., for three switches in New York, Florida, and Indiana.
5. WilTel
On July 1, 1996, WilTel and Qwest entered into an asset purchase agreement, in which Qwest sold its right, title, and interest in certain telecommunications service agreements for $ 5,500,000.
6. Frontier Communications
In 1995, Qwest began negotiations with Frontier regarding the use of optical fibers and other related property. On October 18, 1996, Qwest executed an IRU agreement with Frontier Communications, granting Frontier Communications the right to use certain optical fibers and other property in a fiberoptic telecommunications system to be constructed by Qwest.
7. MFS of California, Inc.
On November 1, 1994, Qwest and MFS of California, Inc. (MFS) entered into a conduit exchange, in which Qwest exchanged approximately 47 miles of conduit between San Jose and Oakland for approximately 60 miles of conduit constructed by MFS from San Francisco to San Jose.
In June 1996, Qwest and MFS entered into an optical fiber swap agreement for the exchange of 12 dark fibers from the San Francisco and Oakland Bay Bridges to both parties' points of presence*60 (POPs). *61 allocation method. Qwest developed the incremental cost allocation method in part by looking at third-party subcontractors' bids to install conduits. Bids to install only one conduit, when compared to the bids to install multiple conduits, indicated that the third-party subcontractors increased the bid on an incremental basis as more conduits were added.
Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is described as follows: (1) Qwest allocated to the customer contracts what it determined to be direct costs associated with those contracts; (2) Qwest allocated to its retained assets what it determined to be the direct costs associated with its retained conduits and fibers; and (3) Qwest allocated what it determined to be indirect costs incrementally between the customer contracts and its retained assets. The incremental cost allocation method was used for both the conduit installation projects and the IRU projects, but the method varied slightly.
A. Incremental Cost Allocation Method in the Conduit Installation Projects
To determine what costs should be allocated to Qwest's retained conduits in the conduit installation projects, Qwest developed an incremental base rate. By evaluating*62 Qwest's construction costs, Senior Vice President for Construction Daniel O'Callaghan (Mr. O'Callaghan) and Qwest Assistant Vice President Ronald Pearce (Mr. Pearce) determined that an incremental base rate of $ 6,019 per conduit mile should be utilized. The incremental base rate included: (1) $ 2,376 for conduit material, assuming a cost to Qwest of 45 cents per foot; (2) $ 370 for other material related to installation; (3) $ 2,640 for labor attributable to the installation of the additional conduit; (4) $ 581 for equipment costs; and (5) $ 53 for overhead. The incremental base rate could be adjusted to reflect variations in conduit material costs. For example, Qwest adjusted its incremental base rate for the MCI Denver-El Paso conduit project from $ 6,019 to $ 6,500 per conduit mile due to an increase in conduit material costs from $ 2,376 to $ 2,856 per mile. *63 perfecting the rights-of-way because these costs would have been incurred when installing the conduit for the third-party customer regardless of whether Qwest chose to install additional conduit. The incremental base rate did not include adjustments based on terrain and was not increased as a result of budget overruns.
Using the incremental base rate, with appropriate adjustments, Qwest determined the incremental costs per conduit mile of conduits retained by Qwest were:
Incremental cost
Project per conduit mile
_______ ________________
MCI San Jose-Reno-Wells $ 8,129
MCI Salt Lake City-Denver 7,629
MFS Los Angeles 6,019
MFS Dallas 6,019
Viacom San Francisco Bay 6,019
MCI Denver-El Paso 6,500
MCI Kansas City-St. Louis 5,999
US West Phoenix-Mesa 5,066
MCImetro Dallas 5,417
US West Grants-Gallup 6,806
MFS Anaheim*64 6,584
Using the MCI Denver-El Paso project as an example, Qwest used the incremental cost allocation method as follows: *65 B. Incremental Cost Allocation Method in the IRU Projects Qwest also used an incremental cost allocation method to allocate costs for the IRU projects involving WorldCom. For these projects, Qwest allocated existing conduit costs, the labor costs of pulling fiber, and right-of-way costs entirely to the IRU agreement because these costs did not increase by installing a cable with more than 24 fibers. *66 V. Tax Returns for the Years in Issue Petitioners timely filed consolidated Federal income tax returns for the years in issue. On February 4, 2003, respondent mailed a notice of deficiency to petitioners for the years in issue. As reflected in the notice of deficiency, respondent determined that an average cost allocation approach should be used for all of petitioners' conduit installation and fiber pulling projects. In the notice of deficiency, respondent explained: certain incremental costs included in your cost of sales claimed on your tax returns for taxable years ending 7-31-94, 7-31-95 and 7-31-96 in the amounts of $ 20,149,787, $ 10,977,427 and $ 14,602,442, respectively, are not allowable because they are capital expenditures. Accordingly your income is increased by $ 20,149,787, $ 10,977,427 and $ 14,602,442 for taxable years ending 7-31-94, 7-31-95 and 7-31-96 respectively. Using the MCI Denver-El Paso project as an example, respondent allocated the project costs as follows: *67 ___________ Project costs to allocate $ 37,871,716 Divide: total conduit miles / 3,056 ___________ Average cost per conduit mile $ 12,391 Multiply: customer conduit miles * 761 ___________ Costs allocated to customer $ 9,433,853 Add: direct costs allocated + 1,279,689 to customer ___________ Project costs allocated $ 10,713,542 to customer Total project costs $ 39,151,405 Less: project costs allocated (10,713,542) to customer ___________ Project Costs Allocated to Qwest $ 28,437,863 *68 On April 24, 2003, petitioners filed a petition with this Court disputing the determinations in the notice of deficiency. As relevant, petitioners state: The Commissioner * * * erred in failing to determine that petitioners properly and reasonably allocated costs between long-term contracts with customers for the installation of conduit or fiber optic cable and additional conduit or fiber optic cable retained by petitioners in accordance with applicable Treasury regulations, and in failing to determine that petitioners' method of allocating costs between long-term contracts and retained assets clearly reflected their income. OPINION Respondent contends that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is not a reasonable allocation method under To reach our holdings, we must first lay out the statutory and regulatory framework and determine how the Code sections in issue apply to the instant case. Second, we must determine the meaning of "reasonable allocation" for purposes of The parties agree that two Code sections are implicated by Qwest's incremental cost allocation method, A. Qwest's cost allocation to its customer contracts is governed by In the first level allocation, the regulations recognize that some indirect costs benefit both long-term contracts and "other activities of the taxpayer." If indirect costs must be allocated to multiple long-term contracts, the regulations provide a second level allocation: The indirect costs required to be allocated to a long-term contract under paragraph * * * (d)(6)(ii) of this section shall be allocated to particular contracts for the year such costs are incurred using either -- (A) A specific identification (or "tracing") method, or (B) A method using burden rates, such as ratios based on direct costs, hours, or other items, or similar*73 formulas, so long as the method employed for such allocation reasonably allocates indirect costs among long-term contracts completed during the taxable year and long-term contracts that have not been completed as of the end of the taxable year. * * * B. Allocation of Costs to Property Produced by the Taxpayer Under *75 Like the regulations under If indirect costs must be allocated among different items of property subject to A taxpayer may use the methods described in paragraph (f)(2) [specific identification method] or (3) [burden rate and standard costs methods] of this section if they are reasonable allocation methods within the meaning of this paragraph (f)(4). In addition, a taxpayer may use any other reasonable method to properly allocate direct and indirect costs among units of property produced or property acquired for resale during the taxable year. An allocation method is reasonable if, with respect to the taxpayer's production or resale activities taken as a whole -- (i) The total costs actually capitalized during the taxable year do not differ significantly from the aggregate costs that would be properly capitalized using another permissible method described in this section or in consideration given to the volume and value of the taxpayer's production or resale activities, the *77 availability of costing information, the time and cost of using various allocation methods, and the accuracy of the allocation method chosen as compared with other allocation methods; (ii) The allocation method is applied consistently by the taxpayer; and (iii) The allocation method is not used to circumvent the requirements of the simplified methods in this section or in 263A. C. Application of The instant case presents a unique issue: When a taxpayer performs a long-term contract and simultaneously produces property retained by the taxpayer, how are the indirect costs of the two activities allocated under Respondent asserts that the order in which*78 the Code sections and regulations are applied will make a difference in the outcome of the amount of indirect costs that must be capitalized under After the first level allocation is complete, costs will be separated between long-term contracts, taxpayer-produced property or property held for resale, and if applicable, other property not subject to either section. For the second level allocations, As applicable to the instant case, in its first level allocation, Qwest must make a "reasonable allocation" of indirect costs between its customer contracts and its retained assets. See II. Definition of "Reasonable Allocation" for Purposes of Respondent argues that the language of A. The Language of Regs. Respondent argues that the language of As a preface to applicable to this case, to "intermediate cost objectives." The regulation uses "activities" to illustrate what is meant by intermediate cost objectives. Thus, it intends that the phrase "intermediate cost objectives" refers to the first level of cost allocation *83 referenced above, i.e., between activities. Treas. Reg. Costs at the intermediate level, or first level of allocation between using * * * any other reasonable allocation method as defined under Respondent's argument is premised on the notion that In pertinent part, This interpretation is supported by the language of Indirect costs * * * are generally allocated to intermediate cost objectives such as departments or activities prior to the allocation of such costs to property produced or property acquired for resale. Indirect costs are allocated using either a specific identification method, a standard cost method, a burden rate method, or any other reasonable allocation method (as defined under the principles of paragraph (f)(4) of this section). Respondent contends that "intermediate cost objectives" distinguishes between property subject to and property not subject to For the above reasons, we find that B. The Language and Parallel Structure of Respondent argues that the parallel structure of As discussed above, the regulations under both With respect to the second level allocation, What respondent asks the Court to do is take the reasonableness standard from the second level allocation under the In addition, the explicit language of For these reasons, the language and parallel structure of the regulations do not support incorporating the reasonableness standard of C. Legislative History of Respondent maintains that the legislative history of The uniform capitalization rules of The Committee believes that, in order to more accurately reflect income and make the income tax system more neutral, a single, comprehensive set of rules should govern the capitalization of costs of producing, acquiring, and holding property * * * subject to appropriate exceptions where application of the rules *92 might be unduly burdensome. * * * * * * * The uniform capitalization rules will be patterned after the rules applicable to extended period long-term contracts, set forth in the final regulations issued under Accordingly, taxpayers subject to the rules will be required to capitalize not only direct costs but also an allocable portion of most indirect costs that benefit the assets produced or acquired for resale * * *. The committee recognizes that modifications of the rules set forth in the long-term contract regulations may be necessary or appropriate in order to adapt such rules to production not involving a contract, and intends that the Treasury Department will have the authority to make such modifications. * * * The existing long-term contract regulations provide a large measure of flexibility to taxpayers in allocating indirect costs to contracts inasmuch as they permit any reasonable method of allocation authorized by cost accounting principles. The committee expects*93 that the regulations under this provision will adopt a similarly liberal approach and permit allocations of costs among numerous items produced or held for resale by a taxpayer to be made on the basis of burden rates of other appropriate methods similar to those provided under present law. S. Rept. 99-313, at 140-142 (1986), 1986-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 1, 140 142. In less detail, the House report states: "allocations of indirect production costs among items produced, or between inventory and current expense, are to be made under rules similar to those provided under present law." H. Rept. 99-426, at 626 (1985), 1986-3 C.B. (Vol. 2) 1, 626. The legislative history, as quoted above, clearly indicates that Congress intended the uniform capitalization rules to be patterned after the regulations under The Senate report does not state that the regulations under Respondent further contends that, by not incorporating the reasonableness standard of the Accordingly, we find that the legislative history does not support incorporating the reasonableness standard of Where a term is not defined in a statute, it should be given its ordinary meaning. Respondent argues that the dictionary meaning of "reasonable" should not be used because "Reasonable" is defined as "being in agreement with right thinking or right judgment: not conflicting with reason*97 * * * possessing good sound judgment". Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1892 (1993). In other words, something is reasonable if there is a logic to it and a sound basis and justification for it. Because it is undefined in Respondent determined that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is unreasonable. In support of this determination, respondent argues that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method: (1) Does not meet the reasonableness standard found in Generally, a taxpayer bears the burden of proving the Commissioner's determinations incorrect. As found above, the reasonableness standard of Respondent contends that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method fails to match Qwest's income and expenses, resulting in dramatic tax deferral, and is thus unreasonable because it violates congressional intent. Respondent's argument is based on hindsight, not on the facts as they were at the time Qwest made its allocations, and is thus unpersuasive. The Senate report accompanying the Tax Reform Act of 1986 states: The committee believes that present-law rules regarding the capitalization of costs incurred in producing property are deficient in two respects. * * * Second, different capitalization rules may apply under the present law depending on the nature of the property and its intended use. These differences may create distortions in the allocation of economic resources and the manner in which certain economic activity is organized. The*100 Committee believes that, in order to more accurately reflect income and make the income tax system more neutral, a single, comprehensive set of rules should govern the capitalization of costs of producing, acquiring, and holding property * * * subject to appropriate exceptions where application of the rules might be unduly burdensome. S. Rept. 99-313, supra at 140, 1986-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) at 140. The concern expressed in the Senate report is that taxpayers can structure their economic activity in such a way that creates a mismatch of income and expenses. Respondent suggests that Qwest's goal in using its incremental cost allocation method was to create such a mismatch. As an example, in the MCI Denver-El Paso project, Qwest allocated $ 30,422 per conduit mile to the customer contract, while allocating only $ 6,500 per conduit mile to the retained conduit. Respondent contends that Qwest knew its retained conduit was worth at least $ 30,000 to $ 40,000 per conduit mile, but Qwest intentionally allocated a disproportionate amount of expenses to the single conduit laid pursuant to a customer contract. Because more expenses were allocated to the customer's*101 conduit, respondent contends that Qwest's income was understated when Qwest reported its income on the percentage of completion basis under Respondent's contention assumes that Qwest knew the amount of future economic benefit it would realize from the retained conduits at the time it made the cost allocations. Respondent focuses on Qwest's 1995 five-year plan, which stated Qwest's goal of offering 15,502 miles of conduit for sale to third-party customers. The 1995 five-year plan estimated that, if the conduit were sold at an average of $ 30,000 per conduit mile, this would generate revenue of $ 465 million. Respondent also notes that after the years in issue, Qwest was able to sell most of its retained conduits. Respondent fails to consider the extensive testimony and evidence that, at the time the allocations were made, the value of the retained conduits was uncertain. The estimated value of the retained conduits at $ 30,000 per mile could*102 be realized only if the conduits were actually sold. At the time of installation, Qwest did not have customers lined up to purchase the retained conduits. In its report to Qwest, CLC concluded that the country did not need another nationwide fiberoptic network, and Qwest's installation of additional conduits would be "very risky" and its revenue projections "may be optimistic". Further, Mr. Anschutz and Mr. O'Callaghan credibly testified that installing additional conduit was speculative and Qwest knew that the retained conduit could potentially have little or no value. Respondent's accounting expert, Professor Charlotte Wright (Professor Wright), testified: the question put to me was, Would an incremental cost accounting method * * * present a true and fair view of the results of operations during the current period. And then since these would be -- capitalize future economic performance, it concerned me that a method that resulted in only minor costs -- a minor amount of costs being capitalized * * * would result in an understatement of their assets in the current period and then, going forward, an overstatement*103 for financial reporting of their profits in the future * * *. However, Professor Wright concluded that "if there was a genuine concern that you would never recover an allocated portion of the total costs, then a method that allocated less to the retained assets, such as an incremental method, would be appropriate." Petitioners firmly established that the value of Qwest's retained conduits was uncertain when the cost allocations were made. Respondent's expert testified that when the future economic benefit of a retained asset is uncertain, a method that allocates less expense to that asset may be appropriate. Accordingly, we find that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method was not used to distort the organization of economic activity and does not violate congressional intent. Respondent argues that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is unreasonable because it violates the principles of taxpayer parity as required by the Respondent misinterprets Idaho Power Co., and thus the argument is unpersuasive. In An additional pertinent factor is that capitalization of construction-related depreciation by the taxpayer who does its own construction work maintains tax parity with the taxpayer who has its construction work done by an independent contractor. The depreciation on the contractor's equipment incurred during the performance of the job will be an element of cost charged by the contractor for his construction services, and the entire cost, of course, must be capitalized by the taxpayer having the construction work performed. The Court of Appeals' holding [that the taxpayer could currently deduct the depreciation expense] would lead to disparate treatment among taxpayers because it would allow the firm with sufficient resources to construct its own facilities and to obtain a current deduction, whereas another firm without such resources would be required to capitalize its entire cost including deprecation charged to it by the contractor. Respondent attempts to extend the tax parity rationale of other hand, paid Qwest approximately $ 32 million for its one conduit that covered 761 miles * * *. So MCI's tax basis per mile in the identical asset is $ 41,694. This is six times Qwest's basis for the identical asset. * *107 * * * * * * This huge disparity in tax basis of identical assets between Qwest's assets and those of its customers results in Qwest having an enormous competitive advantage in the industry. With this situation, Qwest is in a position to either price its services lower than its competitors, to the competitors' detriment, or to reap a much higher percentage profit than its competitors for providing identical services. * * * such a situation violates the basic principle of taxpayer parity as espoused by the Supreme Court in Idaho Power and is a powerful indication of the unreasonableness of Qwest's incremental method * * * . The principle of taxpayer parity found in D. Economic Reality of Qwest's Conduit Installation and Fiber Pulling Projects Petitioners argue that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is reasonable because it reflected Qwest's decision-making process and was based on the economic reality of the transactions. However, respondent contends that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method did not accurately reflect its business strategy. 1. Respondent's Characterization of Qwest's Business Strategy Respondent argues that Qwest's business strategy during the years in issue was to become a full-service telecommunications company, and that obtaining third-party contracts was simply a means of financing the building of a nationwide fiberoptic network. Respondent cites Qwest's 1995 five-year plan, which states: "The primary business focus of [Qwest] is to create a nationwide, owned, facility based network and utilize it to carry profitable, revenue traffic." Respondent asserts that the*109 other transactions during the years in issue support respondent's characterization. Respondent also notes that Qwest offered telecommunications services during the years in issue. Respondent's argument is based in large part on hindsight, as it looks at the development of Qwest subsequent to the years in issue, not as Qwest was operating during the years in issue. No five-year plans were ever adopted by Qwest's Board of Directors. Further, Mr. Anschutz, Mr. O'Callaghan, Mr. Pearce, and other witnesses credibly testified that Qwest's goal during the years in issue was not to become a full-service telecommunications company. Mr. Anschutz testified that "Our intent was to make contracts with buyers for segments of construction along the railroad and, if we could, to make money on those contracts for construction and, in the process, lay incremental conduit, or in some case fiber, as we went." While many of Qwest's other transactions indicate that Qwest's business was expanding during the years in issue, these transactions do not contradict the witnesses's testimony. Many of the transactions were entered into to service Qwest's existing telecommunications service customers. When questioned*110 about the telecommunications services offered during the years in issue, Mr. Anschutz explained that those services were "an experiment during the years in issue -- yes there were substantial revenues, but even larger losses, and that's why the experiment was shut down." It is not clear from respondent's argument how, if we were to accept his characterization of Qwest's business strategy, this would impact the reasonableness of Qwest's incremental cost allocation method. Presumably, it would cast doubt on petitioners' characterization of the economic reality of their transactions or on the amount of costs allocated to Qwest's retained conduits. Nevertheless, for the above-stated reasons, we do not accept respondent's characterization of Qwest's business strategy. 2. Petitioners' Characterization of Qwest's Transactions and Decision-Making Process Petitioners contend that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method reflected Qwest's decision-making process and the economic reality of the underlying transactions. Specifically, petitioners state: Under its long-term customer contracts, Qwest obligated itself to incur costs to satisfy its contractual obligations, *111 and then decided whether to make the incremental investment necessary to install additional empty conduits or fibers. In other words, Qwest's basic approach was to get a customer to pay enough to justify installing and selling the conduit the customer wanted, and then to consider whether to incur the limited incremental risk of installing additional conduit for its own potential future use or sale. * * * Qwest's cost allocation was entirely consistent with its business strategy. As discussed below, respondent argues that several facts contradict petitioners' characterization. a. General Procedure Followed by Qwest The parties stipulated that Qwest generally followed the same procedure in its conduit installation projects: (1) Qwest contracted with a third-party customer for installation of conduit over a certain route; (2) conduit was installed along Southern Pacific's or other railroad companies' rights-of-way; (3) Qwest received cash compensation or DS-3 capacity for installing the conduit; and (4) Qwest simultaneously installed and retained additional conduits for its own potential future use or sale. With respect*112 to the IRU projects, Qwest: (1) Contracted with WorldCom to pull a certain number of fibers; and (2) instead of pulling a fiberoptic cable with just enough fibers to satisfy the IRU agreement, Qwest pulled a fiberoptic cable with additional fibers for its own potential future use or sale. b. Qwest's Primary Focus Petitioners argue that Qwest would not have installed the additional conduits or pulled additional fiber without first having the third-party customer contracts in place. Respondent argues that Qwest's primary focus was not the installation of conduit or pulling of fiber for third-party customers, pointing to the two projects with no third-party customer contracts in place. *113 *114 conduits for third-party customers and multiple conduits for its own potential future use or sale. As a result of the Coast Route project, Qwest obtained several unconnected segments of empty conduit along the Coast Route. Petitioners argue that installing conduit to connect these segments was not a departure from Qwest's normal business strategy because Qwest was installing only small portions of conduit to connect a much bigger system of conduits. The cost was relatively modest, and Qwest took the risk because a connected fiberoptic system could potentially have a much higher value. In the Dallas-Houston project, Qwest installed 270 miles of conduit, pulled fiber, and lit the fiber without a third-party contract in place. Petitioners explain that this was not a departure from Qwest's normal business strategy because Qwest began construction only after management assured Mr. Anschutz that WilTel would purchase the conduit. Subsequently, WilTel purchased the Dallas-Houston conduit system. The Cal Fiber and Dallas-Houston projects were departures from Qwest's general conduit installation and fiber-pulling procedures. However, the significance respondent attaches to the departures*115 is not justified. The testimony shows that the projects were consistent with Qwest's overall business strategy of installing conduit or pulling fiber only when the risk of doing so could be limited. These projects do not suggest that Qwest's primary focus in the projects at issue was its retained assets rather than the conduit installed or fiber pulled for the third-party customer, as respondent contends. Accordingly, we find that Qwest's primary focus in its nine conduit installation projects and three IRU projects was the third- party customer contracts. But for the existence of the third-party contracts, Qwest would not have installed additional conduit or pulled additional fiber. c. Allocation of Costs Necessary to Complete the Third-Party Customer Contracts to Those Contracts Because certain costs were necessary to complete the third-party customer contracts, regardless of how many additional conduits or fiber were installed or pulled, Qwest allocated those costs to third- party customer contracts. Petitioners argue that this is consistent with the economic reality of the transactions because Qwest would not have incurred the costs absent the customer contract. Respondent recognizes*116 that Qwest had to incur certain fixed costs regardless of whether one conduit is installed (or a 24-fiber cable is pulled), or multiple conduits are installed (or a cable with more than 24 fibers is pulled) simultaneously. However, respondent argues that a portion of the fixed costs, such as the costs of digging a trench and the costs associated with perfecting Qwest's rights-of-way, should also be allocated to the retained assets because those costs also benefit the retained assets. Further, respondent argues that a portion of cost adjustments based on terrain and budget overruns should also be allocated to Qwest's retained assets. As found above, Qwest would not have installed additional conduit or pulled additional fiber without first securing the customer contract. Accordingly, we find that Qwest's allocation of those costs to only the customer contract was consistent with Qwest's decision-making process and the economic reality of the transactions. d. Allocation of Incremental Costs to Qwest's Retained Assets Qwest allocated only the direct costs of material and an incremental portion of labor and indirect costs to its retained conduits. With respect to the retained fiber,*117 Qwest allocated only the incremental costs of installing any additional conduits and endlinks and the costs of the retained fiber and of splicing and testing that fiber. Petitioners argue that the allocation of these costs is consistent with the economic reality of the transactions because these costs were the only additional costs incurred by Qwest as a result of its decision to install additional conduit or pull additional fiber. Further, petitioners argue that the allocation also reflected Qwest's willingness to incur only an incremental risk by installing the retained assets. Respondent does not contest that at least these costs should be allocated to Qwest's retained assets. However, respondent questions how Qwest arrived at its incremental base rate. Before the years in issue, Qwest acted primarily as a general contractor and subcontracted most of the construction work out to third parties. Bids submitted by subcontractors to install only one conduit, when compared to the bids to install multiple conduits, indicated that the third-party subcontractors increased their bid on an incremental basis when more conduits were added. Qwest used this idea as the foundation for its incremental*118 cost allocation method and the development of its incremental base rate. Mr. O'Callaghan and Mr. Pearce developed an incremental base rate of $ 6,019 per conduit mile. The incremental base rate included: (1) $ 2,376 for conduit material, assuming a cost to Qwest of 45 cents per foot; (2) $ 370 for other material related to installation; (3) $ 2,640 for labor attributable to the installation of the additional conduit; (4) $ 581 for equipment costs; and (5) $ 53 for overhead. The incremental base rate did not include costs such as those for of digging the trench or for perfecting the rights-of-way, nor was it adjusted to reflect cost increases based on terrain or budget overruns. First, respondent questions the development of the incremental base rate, implying that Qwest arbitrarily arrived at $ 6,019. Mr. O'Callaghan and Mr. Pearce testified that they looked at all costs associated with the installation of conduit to determine what costs were fixed and what costs increased when more conduits were added. They then looked at the costs that increased, such as labor, equipment costs, and overhead, and came up with the average cost increase per conduit mile when additional conduits were*119 installed. To this figure, they added the average cost of conduit material to arrive at $ 6,019. Mr. Pearce testified that their calculations were reflected on spreadsheets on his laptop computer, and when he retired in 1999, he returned the computer to Qwest. Qwest could not find the spreadsheets. Despite the missing underlying spreadsheets, we find that Mr. O'Callaghan and Mr. Pearce credibly justified Qwest's use of an incremental base rate of $ 6,019. Respondent also questions why the incremental base rate did not include the costs of digging the trench, costs associated with perfecting rights-of-way, and why the base rate was not adjusted to reflect cost increases based on terrain or budget overruns. However, respondent recognizes that Qwest had to incur these costs regardless of whether one conduit or multiple conduits were installed. As found above, because Qwest was obligated to incur these costs to perform its customer contracts, allocating all of these costs to the customer contracts reflects the economic reality of the projects. Because Qwest incurred only certain incremental costs to install additional conduit or pull additional fiber, and because Qwest was willing to*120 incur only limited risk to do so, we find that Qwest's allocation of only those costs to its retained assets was consistent with Qwest's decision-making process and the economic reality of the transactions. e. Summary With regard to the projects in issue, petitioners have shown that Qwest would not have installed additional conduit or pulled additional fiber without first securing a customer contract. Qwest's allocation of all costs necessary to complete the customer contract to that contract is consistent with Qwest's business strategy. Qwest's allocation of the incremental costs to its retained assets reflects the risk involved with and the incremental cost of installing those assets. For these reasons, we find that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is consistent with its business strategy because it reflects Qwest's decision-making process and the economic reality of the projects at issue. 3. Expert Testimony Petitioners' cost accounting expert, Professor Charles E. Horngren (Professor Horngren), is the Edmund W. Littlefield Professor of Accounting, Emeritus, at Stanford University. He has been a professor for more than 37 years and his cost accounting treatise, originally*121 published in 1962, is currently in its 12th edition. In Professor Horngren's expert opinion, when costs are allocated consistently with one's business strategy, the allocations are reasonable. In his expert report, Professor Horngren explains: The basic Qwest idea was to get a customer who pays enough to justify installing and selling one conduit. Without that customer, investments in additional retained conduits are too great in amount, particularly when the potential benefit is so risky. * * * On the other hand, the incremental expected costs are sufficiently low to warrant accepting the risks. In short, the business strategy is buttressed by cost allocations that encourage prudent risk-taking. * * * Because its cost allocations harmonized with sound business strategy, Qwest adopted a reasonable allocation method. Professor Horngren's expert testimony strongly supports the reasonableness of Qwest's incremental cost allocation method. Professor Wright, respondent's accounting expert, did not conclude that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method was unreasonable. *122 Wright testified that if the future economic value of the retained property is uncertain, an incremental cost allocation method may be appropriate. Because petitioners have established that the value of Qwest's retained conduit was uncertain, Professor Wright's testimony also supports the reasonableness of Qwest's incremental cost allocation method. 4. Conclusion Because Qwest's incremental cost allocation method was based on the economic reality of the projects in issue, consistent with its decision-making process, and supported by expert testimony, we find that there was a logic to it and a sound basis and justification for it. Petitioners have met their burden of proof. Therefore, we hold that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is a reasonable allocation method for purposes*123 of Respondent argues that under Under Generally, the Commissioner's determination under Petitioners have met their burden of proving that Qwest's incremental cost allocation method is a reasonable allocation method for purposes of In reaching our holdings, we have considered all arguments and contentions*126 made, and, to the extent not mentioned, we conclude that they are moot, irrelevant, or without merit. To reflect the foregoing and the concessions of the parties, Decision will be entered under
Because Qwest is simultaneously constructing identical assets
for itself and for customers, Qwest's incremental*104 method must
also satisfy the * * * taxpayer parity standards set forth in
Idaho Power. By failing to do so, Qwest's incremental
method results in an unfair competitive advantage for Qwest
compared to its competitors, a result contrary to the guidance
of Idaho Power.
Qwest * * * had available for its own use or future sale to
other customers three buried conduits compared to MCI's one
identical conduit on the Denver to El Paso route. Under its
method, Qwest's tax basis per conduit mile in each of its three
conduits is $ 6,967 (including capitalized interest). MCI, on the
1. Petitioners agree to: (1) Decrease the cost of sales for costs allocated to conduits sold to Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS) in the MFS Dallas and MFS Los Angeles projects by $ 915,870 and $ 635,317, respectively, and increase the basis in the retained conduits installed for petitioners' own account during these projects by $ 915,870 and $ 635,317, respectively; and (2) decrease the cost of sales for costs allocated to conduit sold to MCI Telecommunications Corporation (MCI) in the MCI Dillard-Myrtle Creek project by $ 265,912, and increase the basis in the retained conduits installed for petitioners' own account during this project by $ 265,912.
The parties agree that adjustments proposed by respondent in the notice of deficiency for net operating loss, additional
2. Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.↩
3. For convenience purposes, Qwest and its previous business forms will be referred to as "Qwest".↩
4. Optical fibers, each approximately the width of a human hair, are wound into cables, usually in multiples of 6 or 12. Each fiber can be individually connected to specialized optical equipment that makes possible the transmission of laser-generated light signals over the fibers. Dark fibers are optical fibers that are not yet connected to the optical equipment. Lit fibers are optical fibers that have been connected to the optical equipment and can transmit light signals.↩
5. Each DS-3 line represents capacity to transmit 672 long-distance calls simultaneously.↩
6. The Cal Fiber and Dallas-Houston projects were not done for third-party customers.↩
7. The third-party-only projects include: (1) USW Clifton-Rifle; (2) PAC Bell; (3) USW Romero-Santa Fe; and (4) MFS Denver IRU. These projects are not directly in issue and will not be discussed in detail.↩
8. Cost allocations relating to projects without third-party customers are not in issue.↩
9. To avoid confusion, Qwest Communications is hereinafter referred to as Qwest Transmission.↩
10. Microwave systems, the development of which predated the development of fiberoptic technology, offer a means of transmitting lower volume and narrower bandwidths of voice, data, and video signals. Microwave systems use radio frequencies to transmit data between transmission towers.↩
11. A switch is a device that selects the paths or circuits to be used for transmission of information and establishes a connection.↩
12. A POP is the point at which a line from a long-distance carrier connects to the line of the local telephone company or to the user if no local telephone company is involved.↩
13. The $ 1 discrepancy is due to rounding.↩
14. We note that these calculations were provided by petitioners, and there appear to be mathematical errors. However, because petitioners relied on these calculations, we have left the errors uncorrected.↩
15. For the WorldCom Dallas-Houston project, since the fiber was previously installed for Qwest's account, Qwest allocated the existing conduit costs, the costs of pulling fiber through that conduit, and the right-of-way costs to Qwest's retained assets.↩
16. We note that these calculations were provided by respondent, and there appear to be mathematical errors. However, because respondent relied on these calculations, we have left the errors uncorrected.↩
17. The Commissioner issued regulations pursuant to
18. Direct material costs are costs of materials that have "become an integral part of the subject matter * * * and those materials which are consumed in the ordinary course of building, constructing, installing or manufacturing the subject matter".
19. The regulations under
20. The term "produced" includes constructed, built, installed, manufactured, developed, or improved.
21. Though not called to our attention by the parties, the current regulations under
22. Respondent then argues that
23. Respondent contends that the reasonableness standard found in
24. Under
25. It is important to note that the cost allocations with respect to these two projects are not at issue; respondent only uses them to question Qwest's incremental cost allocation method utilized in the projects in issue.↩
26. As noted supra, Qwest actually engaged in 12 such conduit installation projects, but only 9 of these projects are still in issue.↩
27. Respondent also introduced the expert report of John C. Donovan. However, Mr. Donovan's report focused largely on FCC regulations that were not applicable to the years in issue. For this reason, we did not consider his report.↩
Thor Power Tool Co. v. Commissioner , 99 S. Ct. 773 ( 1979 )
Ansley-Sheppard-Burgess Co. v. Commissioner , 104 T.C. 367 ( 1995 )
Brown v. Helvering , 54 S. Ct. 356 ( 1934 )
Welch v. Helvering , 54 S. Ct. 8 ( 1933 )
Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Commissioner , 114 T.C. 293 ( 2000 )
Bank One Corp. v. Comm'r , 120 T.C. 174 ( 2003 )