United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Burnet v. Commonwealth Improvement Co., 287 U.S. 415 (1932)

Burnet v. Commonwealth Improvement Co.

No. 95

Argued November 14, 1932

Decided December 12, 1932

287 U.S. 415

Syllabus

1. The Court does not undertake to determine points not raised or considered below. P. 287 U. S. 418.

2. The taxpayer, a corporation wholly owned by the estate of a decedent who had set it up and transferred securities to it as a medium for avoiding multiple death duties and insuring the safety of a charitable endowment, was assessed a deficiency in its return for 1920 on account of a gain arising out of an exchange of securities between it and the estate. It contended that there could be no true gain or loss in transactions between it and the estate because they were the same entity. Held: the record fails to disclose circumstances sufficient to require disregard of the corporate form. P. 287 U. S. 419.

57 F.2d 47 reversed.

Page 287 U. S. 416

Certiorari, 286 U.S. 541, to review a judgment reversing a decision of the Board of Tax Appeals, 20 B.T.A. 1189, determining a deficiency in income taxes. Cf. the two cases next preceding.