*99 A decision will be entered under Rule 155.
Decedent bequeathed her interest in farmland as follows: life income interest to each of 2 children; life income interest to each child's spouse if married to and living with decedent's child at date of his or her death; life income interest to each of 3 grandchildren with a special power of appointment to each grandchild over his or her beneficial remainder interest; gift over to a university and others if the grandchildren fail to exercise their special powers of appointment and die without descendants. Held, decedent's interest in the farmland passed to qualified heirs for purposes of electing
*1181 OPINION
Respondent, by statutory notice dated December 13, 1983, determined a deficiency of $ 309,171.87 in Federal estate tax due from the Estate of Carita M. Clinard. The sole issue for our consideration 1*103 is whether farmland owned by decedent at the date of her death can be specially valued pursuant to
This case was submitted fully stipulated pursuant to
Carita M. Clinard (decedent), a citizen of the United States and domiciliary of the State of Illinois, died on March 28, 1980. She was survived by Thomas H. Moffett (son), Elizabeth C. Moffett (daughter-in-law), Anthony T. Moffett (grandson), Eloise M. Harper (daughter), H. Thomas Harper (son-in-law), Jeffrey T. Harper (grandson), Jill Harper Lenk Baker (granddaughter), and Jessica E. Baker (great-granddaughter). Thomas H. Moffett (petitioner) was duly appointed executor of decedent's estate and resided in McLean, Illinois, at the time the petition herein was filed.
At her death, decedent was the beneficial owner of 749.54 of 804 total units of an Illinois land trust, the corpus of which consisted of 804.73 acres of farmland located in Logan County, Illinois. Petitioner*104 timely filed an estate tax return with the Internal Revenue Service Center, Kansas City, Missouri, on which he elected
*105 Decedent's interest in the farmland passed pursuant to her Will and First Codicil, in equal shares to two trusts, Trust A and Trust B. Under the terms of Trust A the following interests were created: A life income interest to Thomas H. Moffett; upon his death, a life income interest to his wife, Elizabeth C. Moffett, should she survive him and be married to, or living with him at the time of his death; upon Elizabeth's death (if she qualifies), a life income interest to decedent's grandson, Anthony T. Moffett (Anthony). Upon Anthony's death, the trust will terminate and the property is to be distributed, as Anthony directs in his will, to any organization or person other than his estate, his creditors, or creditors of his estate. Should Anthony fail to exercise his power of appointment, the property will pass to (a) his then-living descendants, in equal shares per stirpes or, in default of such descendants, (b) in two equal parts: one-half to the then-living descendants of Glen L. Carl 5 in equal shares per stirpes (unqualified persons) and one-half to Trust B.
*106 Under the terms of Trust B, decedent created the following interests: A life income interest to Eloise M. Harper, decedent's daughter; upon her death, a life income interest to her husband, H. Thomas Harper, should he survive Eloise and be married to and living with her at the time of her death; upon his death (if he qualifies), a life income interest in one-half of the trust corpus to each of decedent's grandchildren, Jill Harper Lenk Baker and Jeffrey T. Harper. Each one-half interest is to be held in separate trusts, Trust C and Trust D, which will terminate *1183 upon the death of the beneficiary. Upon termination of the trusts, the property is to be distributed as the beneficiary's will directs, to any organization or person other than his estate, his creditors, or creditors of his estate. Should the beneficiaries fail to exercise the powers of appointment granted to them, the property will pass to their then-living descendants per stirpes. If neither Jeffrey nor Jill have surviving descendants, one-half of the property will pass to Ann Huff 6 or her descendants per stirpes (unqualified persons), and the other half to Trust A.
*107 Decedent's will further provided that if, at the termination of any trust created pursuant to her will, none of the other trusts exist to which property so designated can be distributed and there is no remainder beneficiary of the terminating trust, any property which might otherwise be distributed pursuant to her will shall be distributed to the University of Illinois7 (an unqualified person). The parties have agreed that the actuarial probabilities that Anthony, Jeffrey, or Jill will exercise their special powers of appointment in favor of either "qualified heirs" or unqualified persons are not susceptible of computation. 8
*108
Respondent argues that the special powers of appointment granted to decedent's three grandchildren enable them to pass the property to an unqualified person of their choice; consequently, all of decedent's interest did not pass to a qualified heir as required by section 20.2032A-8(a)(2), Estate Tax Regs. Respondent also contends that the remote possibility of a gift over to Ann Huff, her descendants, or the University of Illinois disqualifies
We agree with petitioner.
Congressional concern for the effect of estate tax upon family farms 12*113 prompted the enactment of
*1187 The promulgators of the regulations, in an attempt to expand upon the meaning of the phrase "passed from decedent to a qualified heir," however, have restricted the relief to unconditional owners in fee simple absolute or its equivalence. 17*116 Estate Tax Regs. section 20.2032A-8(a)(2) states that where successive interests are in the heirs, remainder interests must not be contingent upon surviving a nonfamily member or vested subject to divestment in favor of a nonfamily member. 18 Respondent, through the ruling and briefs herein, interprets this regulation as disallowing special use valuation where a qualified heir possesses a life estate with a special power of appointment.
Respondent relies on
This ruling states that the successive interest requirement of section 20.2032A-8(a)(2), Estate Tax Regs., is not satisfied where an interest in qualified real property is subject to the qualified heir's testamentary special power of appointment. We refuse to apply such a restrictive interpretation in the instant case. Such an interpretation ignores the congressional *1188 recognition that at some later date it may be more beneficial*118 to dispose of the family farm.
Additionally, the recapture provisions already provide for the payment of additional tax should such disposition occur within the time prescribed by Congress. Under the terms of the required agreement, 20 a qualified heir remains personally liable for any additional estate tax imposed with respect to his interest should there be a disqualifying event. 21
Under the terms of the trusts provided in decedent's will, a testamentary special power of appointment was granted to each of the grandchildren with respect to the *119 remainder interest in the trust of which each grandchild was the beneficiary. Should there be a disqualifying event with respect to the farm herein involved, the grandchildren would be personally liable for any additional tax imposed with respect to both their life income interest and the remainder interests. It is inconsistent to have different classifications for the same interest. Since decedent's grandchildren are considered holders of an interest by virtue of their special powers of appointment for purposes of signing the agreement and incurring potential liability, they should be considered recipients of the interests that are subject to their special powers of appointment for purposes of section 20.2032A-8(a)(2), Estate Tax Regs., and qualified persons with the potential for "recapture" in accord with congressional mandate.
We now consider the validity of section 20.2032A-8(a)(2), Estate Tax Regs. Regulations are either legislative or interpretative, depending generally upon congressional mandate.
Regulations promulgated under
Treasury regulations "must be sustained unless unreasonable and plainly*121 inconsistent with the revenue statutes."
In addition to the reasons already stated, we note that there is something fundamentally unfair about an interpretation of
Based on the foregoing, we hold that decedent's interest in the farm passed from the decedent to qualified heirs, as *1190 required by
Due to concessions by the parties,
A decision will be entered under Rule 155.
Hamblen, J., concurring: As in
I respectfully concur.
*1191 Simpson, J., dissenting: For the reasons set forth in my opinion in
Whitaker, *124 J., dissenting: In this case a majority of this Court has invalidated section 20.2032A-8(a)(2) of respondent's Estate Tax Regulations so as to permit special use valuation to be elected where decedent's will empowers grandchildren to pass the property to unqualified heirs. In
Footnotes
1. The parties have agreed that petitioner is entitled to a deduction for any additional attorney fees incurred in connection with decedent's estate, and petitioner has retained the right to reserve the election to deduct, on either the Federal estate tax return or the Federal income tax return, any interest paid by decedent's estate on Federal estate taxes.↩
2. Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended and in effect during the year in issue.↩
3.
Sec. 2032A(e)(1) defines "qualified heir" as a member of decedent's family.Sec. 2032A(e)(2)↩ defines "member of the family" as a decedent's ancestor or lineal descendant, a lineal descendant of decedent's grandparent, decedent's spouse, or the spouse of any such descendant.4. Respondent determined fair market value at the date of death to be $ 1,037,610.71, and not $ 960,141.91 as reported by petitioner. The parties now agree that the fair market value on the date of decedent's death was $ 998,876.31.↩
5. Glen L. Carl is the father of Elizabeth C. Moffett. He died on Nov. 16, 1977, and at that time, in addition to his daughter Elizabeth and grandson Anthony, he was survived by Glen E. Carl (son) and Geraldine C. Brown (daughter). They all survived decedent.↩
6. Ann Huff is the sister of H. Thomas Harper (decedent's son-in-law). It is not clear from the record whether she had any descendants at the date of decedent's death.↩
7. Thomas H. Moffett graduated from the University of Illinois, and both decedent and her first husband, Thomas O. Moffett, attended the University of Illinois.↩
8. The actuarial probabilities that the following would not survive decedent by 15 years are as follows:
↩Date of birth Sex Thomas H. Moffett 10/14/24 M Elizabeth C. Moffett 05/23/21 F Anthony T. Moffett 06/15/55 M probability: 0.1318% Eloise M. Harper 01/09/23 F H. Thomas Harper 07/21/16 M Jeffrey T. Harper 02/29/52 M probability: 0.2539% Eloise M. Harper 01/09/23 F H. Thomas Harper 07/21/16 M Jill H. Lenk Baker 06/19/54 F probability: 0.1808% Eloise M. Harper 01/09/23 F H. Thomas Harper 07/21/16 M Jill H. Lenk Baker 06/19/54 F Jessica E. Baker 07/30/79 F probability: 0.0015% 9. Fair market value is defined as "the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts." Sec. 20.2031-1(b), Estate Tax Regs. Fair market value is determined on the highest and best use to which the property can be put, without much consideration for the actual use of the property.↩
10.
Sec. 2032A requires that: (1) The decedent was a citizen or a resident of the United States at the date of death; (2) the property to be specially valued is located in the United States; (3) such property represents 50 percent or more of the adjusted value of the gross estate; (4) the real property has been used for a qualified purpose at the decedent's death (defined as use as a farm for farming purposes or use in a trade or business other than for farming purposes); (5) the property has passed to a member of the decedent's family who qualifies undersec. 2032A ; (6) 25 percent or more of the adjusted value of the gross estate consists of the property that was used for a qualified purpose by the decedent or his family for 5 of the 8 years preceding the decedent's death; and (7) there was material participation by the decedent or a member of his family in the operation of the farm or other business.Sec. 2032A(b) ;Estate of Cowser v. Commissioner, 736 F.2d 1168">736 F.2d 1168 (7th Cir. 1984), affg.80 T.C. 783">80 T.C. 783 (1983);Estate of Coon v. Commissioner, 81 T.C. 602">81 T.C. 602 , 607-608 (1983);Estate of Geiger v. Commissioner, 80 T.C. 484">80 T.C. 484 , 488↩ (1983).11. For purposes of this case, the statute merely permits acquisitions of property from trusts.
Sec. 2032A(e)(9)(C) provides in pertinent part:(9) Property acquired from decedent. -- Property shall be considered to have been acquired from or to have passed from the decedent if --
* * * *
(C) such property is acquired by any person from a trust (to the extent such property is includible in the gross estate of the decedent).↩
12. The report of the House Ways and Means Committee described the reasons for the change as follows:
"Your committee believes that, when land is actually used for farming purposes or in other closely held businesses (both before and after the decedent's death), it is inappropriate to value the land on the basis of its potential "highest and best use" especially since it is desirable to encourage the continued use of property for farming and other small business purposes. Valuation on the basis of highest and best use, rather than actual use, may result in the imposition of substantially higher estate taxes. In some cases, the greater estate tax burden makes continuation of farming, or the closely held business activities, not feasible because the income potential from these activities is insufficient to service extended tax payments or loans obtained to pay the tax. Thus, the heirs may be forced to sell the land for development purposes. Also, where the valuation of land reflects speculation to such a degree that the price of the land does not bear a reasonable relationship to its earning capacity, your committee believes it unreasonable to require that this "speculative value" be included in an estate with respect to land devoted to farming or closely held businesses." [H. Rept. 94-1380 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 755-756. See also S. Rept. 94-938, Part 2 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 657.]↩
13.
Sec. 2032A provides in pertinent part:SEC. 2032A(a) . Value Based on Use Under Which Property Qualifies. --(1) General rule. -- If --
(A) the decedent was (at the time of his death) a citizen or resident of the United States, and
(B) the executor elects the application of this section and files the agreement referred to in subsection (d)(2),
then, for purposes of this chapter, the value of qualified real property shall be its value for the use under which it qualifies, under subsection (b), as qualified real property.
* * * *
(b) Qualified Real Property. --
(1) In general. -- For purposes of this section, the term "qualified real property" means real property located in the United States which was acquired from or passed from the decedent to a qualified heir of the decedent and which, on the date of the decedent's death, was being used for a qualified use by the decedent or a member of the decedent's family, but only if --
(A) 50 percent or more of the adjusted value of the gross estate consists of the adjusted value of real or personal property which --
(i) on the date of the decedent's death, was being used for a qualified use by the decedent or a member of the decedent's family, and
(ii) was acquired from or passed from the decedent to a qualified heir of the decedent.
(B) 25 percent or more of the adjusted value of the gross estate consists of the adjusted value of real property which meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (C),
(C) during the 8-year period ending on the date of the decedent's death there have been periods aggregating 5 years or more during which --
(i) such real property was owned by the decedent or a member of the decedent's family and used for a qualified use by the decedent or a member of the decedent's family, and
(ii) there was material participation by the decedent or a member of the decedent's family in the operation of the farm or other business, and
(D) such real property is designated in the agreement referred to in subsection (d)(2).
(2) Qualified use. -- For purposes of this section, the term "qualified use" means the devotion of the property to any of the following:
(A) use as a farm for farming purposes, or
(B) use in a trade or business other than the trade or business of farming.↩
14. See
sec. 2032A(c)(1) and H. Rept. 94-1380 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 756, in which Congress expressed its concern as follows:"However, your committee recognizes that it would be a windfall to the beneficiaries of an estate to allow real property used for farming or closely held business purposes to be valued for estate tax purposes at its farm or business value unless the beneficiaries continue to use the property for farm or business purposes, at least for a reasonable period of time after the decedent's death. Also, your committee believes that it would be inequitable to discount speculative values if the heirs of the decedent realize these speculative values by selling the property within a short time after the decedent's death.
"For these reasons, your committee has * * * provided for recapture of the estate tax benefit where the land is prematurely sold or is converted to nonqualifying uses."
[Emphasis added.]↩
15. Greater willingness to allow the family to dispose of the farm without adverse tax consequences after a reasonable time of its operation as such is found in
sec. 2032A(c)(1)↩ , amended as of Feb. 15, 1984, which provides for a 10-year recapture period.16. If the specially valued property was disposed of or ceased to be used as a "qualified use" before the earlier of 15 years after the decedent's death or before the death of the qualified heir, additional tax was imposed against the estate, and payable by the qualified heir who signed the agreement required by
sec. 2032A(a)(1)(B) and(d)(2)↩ .17. Heirs who receive life estates with a general power of appointment over the property may, for example, take advantage of the special valuation provision.↩
18. Sec. 20.2032A-8(a)(2), Estate Tax Regs., provides in pertinent part:
(2) Elections to specially value less than all qualified real property included in an estate. * * * If successive interests (e.g. life estates and remainder interests) are created by a decedent in otherwise qualified property, an election under
section 2032A↩ is available only with respect to that property (or portion thereof) in which qualified heirs of the decedent receive all of the successive interests, and such an election must include the interests of all of those heirs. * * * Where successive interests in specially valued property are created, remainder interests are treated as being received by qualified heirs only if such remainder interests are not contingent upon surviving a nonfamily member or are not subject to divestment in favor of a nonfamily member.19. In the instant case, the probabilities of the qualified heirs not surviving decedent by 15 years were small. See note 8 supra↩.
20. See note 16 supra↩.
21. Additional estate tax is assessed if the executor elects
sec. 2032A↩ valuation and the qualified heirs later dispose of the farm or fail to use it for farming purposes within 15 years after the decedent's death.22. See note 18 supra↩.