DocketNumber: Docket No. 94947
Judges: Atkins
Filed Date: 11/14/1963
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 11/14/2024
*23
The petitioner, a teacher in the public school system of New York City, was hospitalized on April 14, 1959, and remained incapacitated throughout the remainder of the calendar year 1959. Throughout this time she received her annual salary which was payable in 12 installments, 1 for each month of the year.
*181 The respondent determined a deficiency in income tax for the taxable year 1959 in the amount of $ 376.51.
The issue presented relates to the proper amount of the petitioner's "sick pay" for the taxable year 1959 which is excludable from gross income pursuant to the provisions of
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are incorporated herein by this reference.
The petitioners are individuals, husband and wife, residing in Brooklyn, N.Y. They filed their joint income tax return for the taxable year 1959 with the district director of internal revenue at Brooklyn. Since Harry Cohen is a party to this proceeding only because he and his*26 wife filed a joint income tax return for the year 1959, Edith Cohen will hereinafter be referred to as the petitioner.
Throughout the taxable year 1959 the petitioner was employed as a teacher in Public School 179, Brooklyn, by the Board of Education of the City of New York, hereinafter referred to as the board of education, under regular appointment and on permanent tenure. Under such employment petitioner, like all public school teachers, was subject to the New York StateEducation Law and the bylaws of the board of education. Article I, section 2, of the New York StateEducation Law provides as follows:
15. School Year. The term "school year" means the period commencing on the first day of July in each year and ending on the thirtieth day of June next following.
*182 Article 65, section 3204, of such law provides in part as follows:
4. Length of school sessions. a. A full time day school or class, except as otherwise prescribed, shall be in session for not less than one hundred ninety days each year, inclusive of legal holidays that occur during the term of said school and exclusive of Saturdays.
Article X, section 90, paragraph 37, of the bylaws of the board of education*27 contained the following provisions during the period here involved relating to vacations and holidays:
The vacations and holidays allowed in the public schools shall be as follows: Every Saturday throughout the year; the 12th day of October; Election Day; the eleventh day of November; Thanksgiving Day and the day following; the 25th day of December to the first day of January and the intervening days; the 12th day of February; the 22nd day of February; the day commonly known as Good Friday and the week following; the 30th day of May; the next day following any day above specified when such day shall be Sunday; in the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, Anniversary Day; in the Borough of The Bronx, Borough Day; and the interval between the 30th day of June and the second Monday in September.
The schools may be closed by resolution of the Board of Education on days other than those specified in this subdivision provided that the minimum number of days on which the schools of each borough shall be in session shall be 190.
The petitioner has never been on duty as a teacher on a Sunday, and she has never been assigned a task or tasks to be specifically performed during the months of July *28 or August either prior to the year 1959, during said year, or subsequent thereto which would deprive her of her summer vacation, except pursuant to special regulations. *29 be due and payable within the school year at least as often as once each calendar month that he is so employed. * * *
Article 63, section 3101, of such law defines "salary" as follows:
3. Except in a city having a population of one million or more, "salary" shall mean the amount of compensation that is to be paid to a teacher for services rendered during the full ten months period that the public schools of the district are required by law to be in session during any school year. For purposes of prorating the salary of a teacher not rendering all the service required of teachers during such period, the monthly rate for the services rendered shall be at least one tenth of the salary and the daily rate at least one two-hundredth of the salary. If any teacher is required to render services beyond the ten months *183 period in any school year, the compensation for such additional services shall be at least the monthly or daily rate used in prorating the salary.
Article I, sections 481, 482, and 483, of the New York City Board of Education bylaws contain the following provisions which are pertinent to the payment of teachers' salaries in such city:
Section 481. The salaries of*30 members of the supervising and teaching staff serving on annual salaries under appointment by the Board of Education shall be payable in twelve installments -- one installment for each month in the calendar year. Any installment due for July shall be paid as nearly as may be on or before the 30th day of June of each year. Any installment due for August shall be paid as nearly as may be on or before the first school day of the following September. Except as otherwise provided herein, salary shall terminate on cessation of service.
Section 482. Any member of the supervising and teaching staff and the administrative staff, or any other employee of the Board of Education granted a vacation and whose vacation period has commenced shall be allowed the same compensation for such vacation period as if actually employed, and such compensation shall be paid regardless of death during such vacation period.
Section 483. One twenty-fifth of a month's salary shall be deducted for every day of absence, unless excused for adequate cause, on the part of any member of the supervising and teaching staff serving on an annual salary under appointment by the Board of Education for whom hours and duration*31 of service are prescribed in Section 91 of the By-Laws. Proportionate deductions of one twenty-fifth of a month's salary shall be made for absence of less than one day on the following basis: Where the normal hours of service are from five hours and thirty minutes to six hours and thirty minutes in one day, as provided by Section 91 of the By-Laws, proportionate deductions shall be made on the basis of six hours to the day; where the normal hours of service are in excess of six hours and thirty minutes, as provided by Section 91 of the By-Laws, proportionate deductions shall be made on the basis of seven hours to the day.
* * * *
The provisions of this section shall apply only to persons employed on an annual salary under appointment by the Board of Education.
Article IV, section 106, of the bylaws of the board of education sets forth the following provisions for the payment of employees who are absent from duty due to personal illness:
3. Absence from duty due to personal illness on the part of a member of the teaching, supervisory staff or attendance staff under regular appointment shall be subject to the provisions enumerated hereinbelow:
(a) Absence from duty due to personal *32 illness on the part of a member of the teaching, supervisory staff or attendance staff may be excused with pay for ten school days per school year.
(b) Unused allowance of days for absence from duty due to personal illness in any school year shall be cumulative and available for future use to a maximum of 200 days. * * *
On Tuesday, April 14, 1959, the petitioner was hospitalized and underwent an operation, remaining incapacitated until January 3, *184 1960, *33 the school year 1959-60 was September 14, 1959. Under the bylaws of the board of education, teachers were required to report for the latter school year on September 11, 1959, which was Friday of the week preceding the opening of schools. For the year 1959 the Christmas holidays began on Thursday, December 24.
During 1959 the petitioner received her annual salary from her employer, the board of education, in 12 installments -- 1 installment for each month in the calendar year.
In the joint income tax return for the calendar year 1959 the petitioner reported wages received from the board of education in that year in the amount of $ 7,984.27. Therein she reported that of this amount, $ 5,884.28 was received by her for the period from April 14, 1959, to December 24, 1959 (including the regular summer vacation period), and treated such amount as "sick pay." (Attached to the return was a letter from the board of education granting leave through December 23, 1959.) Of such sick pay the petitioner treated $ 3,832.41 as excludable from gross income. *34 adjusted gross income.
In the notice of deficiency the respondent disallowed $ 1,392.41 of the amount claimed as excludable sick pay as not being excludable within the meaning of
*35 OPINION
The issue presented relates to the amount which the petitioner Edith Cohen may exclude from gross income as constituting wages or payments in lieu of wages for periods during which she was absent from work on account of personal injuries or sickness within the provisions of
*38 The respondent, on the other hand, contends that the petitioner was not absent from work on account of injury or sickness within the meaning of the statute during the period July 1 through September 14, 1959, because this period was her normal vacation period and she was neither at work nor expected to be at work during this period. He contends that the issue here presented has been decided by this Court in
*39 There are set forth in the margin pertinent provisions of the Income Tax Regulations promulgated under
*40 The bylaws of the board of education provide that a teacher's absence from duty due to personal illness may be excused with pay for 10 school days per school year, and that sick leave, if unused, shall be cumulative and available for future use up to a maximum of 200 *188 days. Such bylaws also specifically provide for paid vacations for the interval between June 30 and the second Monday in September and the interval between Christmas and January 1. Although, as contended by the petitioner, she was paid a salary on an annual basis (one check for each of the 12 months), and even though it be assumed, as she contends, that the board of education had the authority to require her to work in the summer months if it so desired, the fact is that the board had not taken any action to require her to work during such period. She was not charged with sick leave for any days during the summer and Christmas vacation periods. It seems clear, therefore, that under the board of education plan, payments received for these vacation periods in reality constituted vacation pay and not "sick pay." The petitioner's absence from work during the summer vacation period and during the Christmas period*41 was not due to the fact that she was ill, but was due to the fact that the board of education had not required her to work during such periods.
The petitioner points to that portion of the Income Tax Regulations which states that a member of the Armed Forces, who on a particular day has no assigned duties but to stand ready for duty, is absent from work, for the purpose of
The petitioner also points to the portion of the regulations which provides that a period of absence from work shall commence the moment the employee first becomes absent from work and shall end the moment the employee first returns to work, and claims she falls within this provision because in her case the period commenced April 14, 1959, and extended throughout the remainder of the calendar year. She contends that the portion of the regulations *42 precluding any exclusion for the summer or other vacation period applies only in the case of a teacher who
The question is also presented whether the respondent erred in holding that sick pay does not include any amount of wages or payments in lieu of wages received for legal holidays. The respondent recently issued
*45 In her return the petitioner stated the amount of $ 5,884.28 as being the amount of her sick pay. This figure, in our view, is clearly erroneous in that it includes pay received for the summer vacation period and also apparently that received for the Christmas vacation period. The respondent in the notice of deficiency did not set forth any amount as representing sick pay, but merely set forth an amount representing the excludable portion thereof. The amount of sick pay will be computed in connection with the recomputation under Rule 50.
*190 There remains for consideration the manner of computing the portion of the petitioner's sick pay which is excludable from gross income.
The computation of the correct amount of excludable sick pay, as well as the proper amount of the medical expense deduction, will be made in connection with the recomputation under Rule 50.
1. The stipulation implies that during certain war years the petitioner performed summer work consisting of civilian defense training and activities in the schools required, without additional compensation, by summer service regulations approved by the board of education in 1942 and applying only to war years 1942 through 1944.↩
2. This date was stipulated. However, January 3, 1960, was a Sunday, so we assume that the petitioner reported for duty on January 4.↩
3. In the return the petitioner calculated a weekly rate of sick pay of $ 153.54 by dividing the total amount of $ 7,984.27 by 52 weeks. She calculated the excludable amount of $ 3,832.41 by multiplying the amount of $ 5,884.28 by a fraction, the numerator of which was $ 100 and the denominator of which was $ 153.54.↩
4. The respondent's explanation was as follows:
"Disallowance of sick pay exclusion claimed for summer and holidays for school teacher. Computed as follows:
"185 | working days in school year | |
" 63 | working days worked | |
"122 | working days sick X $ 20 per day | |
"Allowance | $ 2,440.00 | |
"Claimed | 3,832.41 | |
"Disallowed | 1,392.41" |
5.
(a) Amounts Attributable to Employer Contributions. -- Except as otherwise provided in this section, amounts received by an employee through accident or health insurance for personal injuries or sickness shall be included in gross income to the extent such amounts (1) are attributable to contributions by the employer which were not includible in the gross income of the employee, or (2) are paid by the employer.
* * * *
(d) Wage Continuation Plans. -- Gross income does not include amounts referred to in subsection (a) if such amounts constitute wages or payments in lieu of wages for a period during which the employee is absent from work on account of personal injuries or sickness; but this subsection shall not apply to the extent that such amounts exceed a weekly rate of $ 100. In the case of a period during which the employee is absent from work on account of sickness, the preceding sentence shall not apply to amounts attributable to the first 7 calendar days in such period unless the employee is hospitalized on account of sickness for at least one day during such period. If such amounts are not paid on the basis of a weekly pay period, the Secretary or his delegate shall by regulations prescribe the method of determining the weekly rate at which such amounts are paid.
(e) Accident and Health Plans. -- For purposes of this section and section 104 -- (1) amounts received under an accident or health plan for employees, and (2) amounts received from a sickness and disability fund for employees maintained under the law of a State, a Territory, or the District of Columbia,↩
6. The petitioner introduced in evidence an opinion of the State comptroller relating to municipal government, dated June 2, 1953, stating in part as follows:
"We note that you express doubt as to the constitutionality of a plan (see
She also introduced a decision of the commissioner of the New York State Education Department, In the Matter of Appeal of Abraham Lederman, dated December 26, 1951, stating in part as follows:
"The board of education of New York City pays teachers on a twelve month basis. This is in accordance with the provisions of section 3015 of the Education Law. A teacher is employed the year round (Matter of O'Haire, 24 State Dept. Rep. 706) and is entitled to receive one-twelfth salary for each month of service starting with the day the appointment is effective.
"A teacher is employed during July and August the same as during any other month of the year. The board on its part is entitled to service during this period also. This has been the law ever since the teachers in New York City changed from a contract in which the term of the contract was stated to tenure wherein the teacher serves continuously."↩
7. The
8. Section 1.105-4 of the regulations provides in part as follows:
(a)
(2)(i) * * *.
(ii)
(3)(i)
(ii) Similarly, an employee who incurs a personal injury or sickness during his paid vacation is not allowed to exclude under
(4) A period of absence from work shall commence the moment the employee first becomes absent from work and shall end the moment the employee first returns to work. However, the exclusion provided under
(5) For the purpose of
(b)
9. It should be pointed out that we do not have presented here one of the questions presented in the
10.
11. Sec. 1.105-4(d)(3) provides in pertinent part as follows:
(3)
(ii) The weekly rate shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:
* * * *
(d)
* * * *
(iii) * * * If the weekly rate for purposes of
12. He refers to