ALLIED CENTRAL STORES, INC. v. C.I.R

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Docket Number

No. 98, Docket 29029.

Attorney(S)

Percy W. Phillips, Washington, D.C. (Ivins, Phillips Barker, Washington, D.C., of counsel), for petitioner. Norman H. Wolfe, Attorney, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. (Louis F. Oberdorfer, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lee A. Jackson and Gilbert E. Andrews, Attorneys, Department of Justice, of counsel), for respondent.

Judges

Paul Raymond Hays

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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

Petitioner Allied Central Stores, Inc. owns and operates a department store in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1953, Heer's, Inc., which owned a department stores in Springfield, Missouri, was merged into petitioner. Subsequently, in 1956, two other corporations, L.S. Donaldson Company and The Golden Rule, which collectively owned five department stores in Minnesota and South Dakota, were also merged into petitioner.

Petitioner sought to carry over net operating losses from its fiscal years ending January 31, 1951, 1952, and 1954 as deductions from taxable income for the fiscal years ending in 1955 and 1957. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, relying on the precedent set in Libson Shops, Inc. v. Koehler, determined that petitioner was not entitled to carry over pre-merger net operating losses to post-merger income, asserting a deficiency of $155,508.38 for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1957.

The Tax Court held that Section 172 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 incorporated predecessor provisions under the 1939 Code, as construed in Libson Shops, to determine the deductibility of net operating losses. It ruled that carry-overs of pre-merger losses against post-merger income were precluded unless the taxpayer demonstrated that the income was produced by substantially the same business unit that generated the losses. Petitioner failed to make such proof, and the Tax Court denied the deductions.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether petitioner is entitled to carry over net operating losses incurred before corporate mergers as deductions against post-merger taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
Whether the precedent established in Libson Shops, Inc. v. Koehler, decided under the 1939 Code, remains applicable to fiscal years ending after December 31, 1953, and before June 22, 1954, despite the enactment of the 1954 Code.
Whether a merger occurring before June 22, 1954, but in a fiscal year ending after December 31, 1953, is governed by rules independent of both Libson Shops and the special provisions of Sections 381 and 382 of the 1954 Code.

Arguments of the Parties

Petitioner’s Arguments

Petitioner contended that Libson Shops is distinguishable because there was no change in ownership of the merging corporations, all of which were wholly owned and controlled by a parent corporation during the relevant period.
Petitioner asserted there was no change in the business enterprise, as the economic identity of the stores remained the same within the parent corporation’s nationwide chain before and after the mergers.
Petitioner argued that the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 must govern the deductibility of net operating losses for loss years ending after December 31, 1953, including the fiscal year ending January 31, 1954, and that Libson Shops is not applicable under the 1954 Code.

Respondent’s Arguments

Respondent relied on Libson Shops to assert that pre-merger net operating losses cannot be carried over against post-merger income unless the taxpayer proves the income was produced by substantially the same business unit that generated the losses.
Respondent maintained that the 1954 Code’s Sections 381 and 382, which supersede Libson Shops, apply only to mergers occurring after June 22, 1954, and thus do not govern the merger at issue.
Respondent argued that petitioner’s treatment as a separate entity filing separate returns, rather than as part of a consolidated return, means the petitioner was not the same "business enterprise" pre- and post-merger, affecting continuity and disallowing the loss carryover.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Libson Shops, Inc. v. Koehler, 353 U.S. 382 (1957)	Pre-merger net operating losses cannot be carried over to post-merger income unless the income is produced by substantially the same business unit that generated the losses.	The court applied Libson Shops to hold that petitioner could not deduct pre-merger losses against post-merger income, affirming the Tax Court’s reliance on this precedent.
Julius Garfinckel Co. v. Commissioner, 335 F.2d 744 (2d Cir. 1964)	Supported the applicability of Libson Shops principles in similar contexts.	The court cited this recent decision as consistent with the reasoning applied in affirming the Tax Court’s ruling.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court analyzed the applicability of Libson Shops to the petitioner’s claim for net operating loss carryovers. It found no material distinction between the present case and Libson Shops, noting that, like in Libson Shops, there was effectively no change in ownership of the merging entities. However, the court emphasized that the petitioner was treated as a separate entity filing separate tax returns, not as part of a consolidated group, which meant the petitioner was not the same "business enterprise" before and after the mergers. This affected the continuity necessary to permit carryover deductions.

The court further considered petitioner’s argument that the 1954 Code should govern the deductibility of losses for years ending after December 31, 1953. It concluded that Sections 381 and 382 of the 1954 Code, which supersede Libson Shops, apply only to mergers occurring after June 22, 1954. Since the merger of Heer's into petitioner occurred on October 31, 1953, Libson Shops remains controlling for this case.

The court relied on Section 7851(a)(1)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code, which preserves the applicability of 1939 Code provisions, including those interpreted in Libson Shops, for the period before the effective date of the corresponding 1954 Code provisions. Therefore, the court affirmed the Tax Court’s decision denying the deductions.

Holding and Implications

The decision of the Tax Court is affirmed.

The court held that petitioner is not entitled to carry over pre-merger net operating losses as deductions against post-merger income under the applicable law. The ruling confirms that Libson Shops remains controlling for mergers occurring before June 22, 1954, even if the fiscal year ends after December 31, 1953. The decision directly affects the parties by denying the claimed deductions and does not establish new precedent beyond reaffirming existing legal principles.

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ALLIED CENTRAL STORES, INC., Petitioner, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent.

HAYS, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner owns and operates a department store in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1953 Heer's, Inc., which owned a department store in Springfield, Missouri, was merged into petitioner and in 1956 two other corporations, L.S. Donaldson Company and The Golden Rule, which together owned five department stores in Minnesota and South Dakota, were merged into petitioner.

Petitioner sought to carry over net operating losses for its fiscal years ending January 31, 1951, 1952 and 1954 as deductions from its taxable income for the fiscal years ending in 1955 and 1957.

Under the authority of Libson Shops, Inc. v. Koehler, 353 U.S. 382, 77 S.Ct. 990, 1 L.Ed.2d 924 (1957), the respondent determined that petitioner was not entitled to carry over pre-merger net operating losses as deductions from post-merger income and asserted a deficiency of $155,508.38 for the fiscal year ending January 31, 1957. On petition, the Tax Court held that Section 172 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 made the predecessor sections of the 1939 Code, under which Libson Shops was decided, applicable to determine whether or not a net operating loss from petitioner's taxable years ending January 31, 1951, 1952 and 1954 could be deducted from 1955 and 1957 income; that the 1939 Code and Libson Shops precluded the deduction of carry-overs of pre-merger losses against post-merger income unless the taxpayer could show that the income was produced by substantially the same business unit, i.e., the Kansas City store, that produced the losses; and that petitioner had not made such proof. Therefore, the Tax Court denied the deductions claimed.

We affirm the decision of the Tax Court. We see no distinction between this case and Libson Shops. See also our recent decision in Julius Garfinckel Co. v. Commissioner, 335 F.2d 744 (2d Cir. 1964).

Petitioner argues that Libson Shops is distinguishable because here there was and could be no change of ownership of any of the merging corporations, all being wholly owned and controlled by a parent corporation during this period, and because there was no change of business enterprise, since the economic identity of the stores as a small group of the parent corporation's nationwide chain of similar stores remained the same before and after the corporate mergers.

But in Libson Shops there was likewise no change in ownership. Actually in the present case the ultimate ownership, as reflected in the ownership of the shares of the parent corporation which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, may well not have been in 1957 in the hands of those who had suffered the losses in 1951, 1952 and 1954.

The parent corporation has chosen to treat the petitioner as a separate entity filing a separate return, rather than as part of a single enterprise filing a consolidated return. As a separate entity the petitioner was not the same "business enterprise" in 1957 that it was prior to the mergers. The regrouping of subsidiaries which have been treated as separate entities, with resultant changes in stated capital, total assets and net worth, has an effect on "continuity."

Petitioner argues that, regardless of the result reached with respect to 1951 and 1952, the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 must be applied to determine the deductibility of net operating losses with respect to loss years ending after December 31, 1953 and therefore to petitioner's fiscal year ending January 31, 1954, and that Libson Shops is not applicable under the 1954 Code.

If Libson Shops was superseded by the 1954 Code the superseding sections are Sections 381 and 382. However, these sections are applicable only to mergers occurring after June 22, 1954. See Int.Rev.Code of 1954, §§ 393-394. The merger of Heer's into petitioner occurred on October 31, 1953. In order to avoid the application of Libson Shops under the 1939 Code, petitioner must argue that a pre-June 22, 1954 merger which occurred in a fiscal year ending after December 31, 1953, is governed by a rule independent of and different from both Libson Shops and the special rules of the 1954 Code, i.e., that the congressional purpose in deferring the effect of Sections 381-382 to June 22, 1954, was to abrogate 1939 Code case law for a short time before substituting the explicit rules of Sections 381-382. But June 22, 1954, was chosen as a convenient date, shortly before which the congressional committees had announced the new rules, from which corporate taxpayers, who planned mergers, etc., would be put on notice of certain tax consequences. We conclude, therefore, that until June 22, 1954, Libson Shops remained applicable even to fiscal years ending after December 31, 1953, for the purpose of determining deductibility of net operating losses.

See H.R.Rep. No. 1337, 83d Cong., 2d Sess. A145 (1954); S.Rep. No. 1622, 83d Cong., 2d Sess. 287-88 (1954); H.R. Rep. No. 2543 (Conference Comm. Report), 83d Cong., 2d Sess. 40-41 (1954); all of which are reprinted in [1954] 3 U.S.Code Cong. Adm.News, at pp. 4283-4284, 4926-4927, 5300.

Section 7851(a)(1)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code specifically provides that

"The provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939 superseded by provisions of subtitle A of this title [i.e., the income tax provisions] the applicability of which is stated in terms of a specific date (occurring after December 31, 1953) shall be deemed to be included in subtitle A of this title, but shall be applicable only to the period prior to the taking effect of the corresponding provision of subtitle A."

From this section it appears, as the Tax Court held, that those provisions of the 1939 Code which were construed in Libson Shops are deemed included in the 1954 Code, but apply only to the period before June 22, 1954, when the specific provisions of Sections 381 and 382 became applicable to mergers.

Affirmed.