*82 Decision will be entered under Rule 50.
The petitioner, a member of a partnership, was the managing partner of the firm's Paris office for a period of time and received payments from the partnership attributable to such period. Held, some of the payments were guaranteed payments within the meaning of
*753 The respondent determined deficiencies in the petitioners' income taxes as follows:
Taxable year | Deficiency |
1960 | $ 4,268.77 |
1961 | 7,828.06 |
1962 | 6,307.17 |
The petitioner, a partner in a law firm, spent 2 years abroad as managing partner of the firm's Paris office; the issue for decision is how much of his income from the partnership is excludable from gross income pursuant to
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated, and those facts are so found.
The petitioners, Andrew O. Miller, Jr., and Jeanne W. Miller, are husband and wife, who maintained their legal residence in Syosset, N.Y., at the time the petition was filed in this case. They are now, and during the years in issue they were, citizens of the United States. They filed their joint Federal income tax returns for the taxable years 1960, 1961, and 1962, using the cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting, with the Office of International Operations, Washington, D.C. Mr. Miller will be referred to as the petitioner.
Since 1956, the petitioner has been a member of the law firm of White & Case, a partnership formed under the laws of the State of New York. The partnership is engaged solely in the general practice of law, with its principal offices in New York, N.Y. During the years in issue, there *86 was an average of about 36 partners. Capital is not a material income-producing factor in the partnership business. The partnership files its Federal income tax returns on a calendar year basis in accordance with the cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting.
In June 1960, White & Case opened a new branch office in Paris, France, of which the petitioner became the managing partner. At that time, the office personnel of the branch consisted of one partner (the petitioner) and three employees of the partnership.
On June 14, 1960, before the petitioner departed from the United States, he and the partnership entered into a letter agreement which provided, in part, as follows:
We wish to confirm the arrangement we have made with you concerning special compensation to be paid you for your services rendered abroad while *754 you are in charge of the Paris office of White & Case. In consideration of your services in managing our office in Paris, France, and in performing such other services in Europe as may be requested of you by our Firm, we hereby agree to pay you special compensation at the rate of $ 20,000 per annum, payable monthly, commencing July 1, 1960. This special*87 compensation is guaranteed to you by the Firm without regard to the income of the Firm and without regard to your share of the partnership profits. You are to remain in charge of the Paris office of the Firm indefinitely until the Firm decides that your services abroad are no longer required.
Members of the partnership, other than the petitioner and other than three members who were not devoting their full time to the partnership, each received from the partnership $ 15,000 per year during the period July 1960 through June 1962 in monthly installments. These amounts were treated by the partnership as expenses and were deducted in determining the net income distributable to partners pursuant to percentages specified in the partnership agreement, but these fixed amounts payable to other partners were not guaranteed without regard to the income of the partnership.
Under the letter agreement, the petitioner was paid a larger amount as a fixed payment than the other members of the partnership because of the extra expenses of his serving as managing partner of the Paris office. The additional amount paid to the petitioner was not determined by reference to the expected profits of the*88 partnership; nor was it determined on the basis of any tax consequences. However, the purpose of guaranteeing the payment of $ 20,000 per year to the petitioner, regardless of his share of partnership profits, was to qualify such amount under
The parties to the letter agreement believed that payment thereunder would be made to the petitioner as long as he continued to perform services as managing partner of the partnership's Paris office. Although the partnership had earned profits substantially in excess of $ 500,000 per year for the previous 20 years, and the parties to the letter agreement had no reason to expect lesser profits during the taxable years the petitioner might be abroad, it was not impossible for the partnership to incur a loss. Substantial reserve funds were maintained by the partnership against that possibility.
The petitioner would have provided services abroad and would have taken charge of the partnership's office in Paris regardless of whether the partnership guaranteed the $ 20,000 annual*89 compensation.
The petitioner received from the partnership, pursuant to the letter agreement of June 14, 1960, $ 10,000 in 1960, $ 20,000 in 1961, and $ 10,000 in 1962, in equal monthly installments of $ 1,666.66, commencing July 1960 and ending June 1962. These amounts were paid to the *755 petitioner on account of his services to the partnership outside the United States. During the period he received them, he performed no services for the partnership other than as managing partner of the Paris office. The amounts paid to the petitioner were treated by the partnership as expenses and were deducted in determining the net income distributable to the partners pursuant to the partnership agreement.
The petitioner left the United States by ship on June 16, 1960, and arrived in Paris on June 21, 1960. His wife and five children accompanied him. The petitioner and his family lived in a rented apartment in Paris. At the time the petitioner left the United States in June 1960, he had agreed to stay for a minimum period of 2 years, but did not know how long he would actually remain in Paris.
Before leaving the United States, the petitioner leased his house in Syosset, Long Island, *90 N.Y., for 14 months and thereafter on a month-to-month basis. He would have leased the house for 3 years if he could have done so, and would have sold the house if he could have obtained a satisfactory price. He also resigned from, or acquired nonresident status in, several clubs and organizations in the United States to which he belonged.
In France, the petitioner belonged to various clubs and organizations, including social clubs, eating clubs, an athletic club, several golf clubs, the Paris branch of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Yale Club of Paris, and the University Club of Paris. The petitioner spoke French. He and his wife had a number of French friends and participated in social activities to the extent that his work permitted. The petitioner contributed to charitable organizations in Paris, including the American Hospital and the American Cathedral.
The French Government treated the petitioner as a resident alien who worked in Paris. He had a visa of the same kind as any permanent resident alien. He paid French income taxes, pursuant to the advice of a tax lawyer in the partnership's Paris office.
While the petitioners resided in Paris, three of their children *91 attended schools in Europe and two, who were already in boarding school in the United States, continued their education in the United States. The latter two spent their vacations with the petitioners in Europe.
In the spring of 1962, the petitioner determined to return to the United States, and on June 16, 1962, he terminated his status as managing partner of the Paris office and departed from France by ship. He arrived in the United States on June 21, 1962. During the period June 21, 1960, to June 16, 1962, the petitioner lived in Paris and was engaged fulltime in performing services on behalf of the partnership in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. He was present in a foreign country or countries throughout this time, except for the periods April 18, *756 1961, to April 27, 1961, and June 5, 1961, to June 17, 1961. During these two periods, he came to the United States on business trips. No member of his family accompanied him on these business trips. No member of his family, except his two children who were attending school in the United States, returned to the United States during the years he was abroad.
Pursuant to the partnership agreement, each partner, including the*92 petitioner, was entitled to a distributive share consisting of a stated percentage of the partnership's net income (after the deduction of expenses and the payments to partners described previously). The petitioner's percentage was not reduced at any time during the years 1960 through 1962, nor was it increased when he became managing partner of the Paris office. The petitioner's distributive share of the partnership's net income amounted to $ 42,180.80, $ 48,929, and $ 52,463.72 for the calendar years 1960, 1961, and 1962, respectively. Such amounts were in addition to the amounts paid to the petitioner pursuant to the letter agreement of June 14, 1960, and were paid at irregular intervals as cash was accumulated by the partnership in excess of its expense requirements. Of these amounts, $ 22,335.82 of the amount for 1960, the entire amount of $ 48,929 for 1961, and $ 24,028.38 of the amount for 1962 were attributable to the period of time during which the petitioner was present and performed services for the partnership outside the United States.
In their Federal income tax returns for the years 1960, 1961, and 1962, the petitioners excluded from gross income the income paid*93 to the petitioner by the partnership pursuant to the letter agreement of June 14, 1960, and the portions of his distributive shares of partnership income which were attributable to the period of time during which he was present and performed services for the partnership outside the United States.
In his notice of deficiency, the respondent excluded from gross income pursuant to
OPINION
The petitioner received $ 135,293.20 from White & Case attributable to the period when he was in charge of the firm's Paris office. The issue for decision is how much of this sum is excludable from the*95 petitioners' gross income pursuant to
As applicable to the years in issue,
The following items shall not be included in gross income and shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle:
(1) * * * amounts received from sources without the United States * * * if such amounts constitute earned income * * * attributable to such period; * * *
Earned income is defined inThe respondent makes no distinction between the payments which the petitioner received*96 under the letter agreement and those which he received as his distributive share of the partnership profits. He takes the position that all such payments should be treated alike and that they are excludable only to the extent that they represent the petitioner's share of the firm's income from sources outside the United States.
Although the petitioners have alleged in their pleadings that all income from White & Case is excludable under
The question remaining for decision is whether the payments received by the petitioner under the letter agreement are totally excludable or whether their excludability is limited in the same manner as the petitioner's distributive share. The petitioners contend that such payments are guaranteed payments within the meaning of
In the first place, the respondent maintains that the payments made pursuant to the letter agreement were not guaranteed payments within the meaning*98 of
(c) Guaranteed Payments. -- To the extent determined without regard to the income of the partnership, payments to a partner for services or the use of capital shall be considered as made to one who is not a member of the partnership, but only for the purposes of section 61(a) (relating to gross income) and section 162(a) (relating to trade or business expenses).
In support of his position, the respondent points to the facts that the partnership had a long history of profitable operation, that the agreement was not bargained for by the petitioner but was unilaterally offered by White & Case, and that the payments were guaranteed for the admitted purpose of qualifying them for exemption under
We do not agree with the respondent's position. In connection with the enactment of the partnership provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, *99 the committee reports stated:
The existing tax treatment of partners and partnerships is among the most confused in the entire income tax field. The present statutory provisions are wholly inadequate. The published regulations, rulings, and court decisions are incomplete *759 and frequently contradictory. As a result partners today cannot form, operate, or dissolve a partnership with any assurance as to tax consequences. [H. Rept. No. 1337, to accompany H.R. 8300 (Pub. L. 591), 83d Cong., 2d Sess., p. 65 (1954); S. Rept. No. 1622, to accompany H.R. 8300 (Pub. L. 591), 83d Cong., 2d Sess., p. 89 (1954).]
One of the troublesome problems under the former law was the treatment of compensation paid to a partner. On the basis of the aggregate theory of partnerships, compensation for a partner's services was treated as part of his distributive share of partnership profits or losses. Accordingly, if partnership profits were sufficiently large, the compensation was treated as a distributive share of profits.
The enactment of
Whether the payments do qualify as guaranteed payments depends upon what relationships were in fact created. As a result of the letter agreement, the partnership was obligated to pay the petitioner $ 20,000 a year so long as he continued to manage the Paris office. He thereby acquired a right to such payments, which was not subject to the fortunes *760 of the partnership generally, in contrast to the rights of other partners to receive distributions from the partnership. In addition, the petitioner had a right to receive a larger amount than the withdrawal accounts provided*102 for other partners. Despite the profitability of the partnership and the likelihood that the petitioner could be paid the $ 20,000 out of profits of the partnership, we believe that the guarantee had some significance, and accordingly, we find that the payments were guaranteed payments within the meaning of
Next, the respondent takes the position that even if the payments under the letter agreement are guaranteed payments, they are not totally excludable under
In order to qualify for the
The taxability of the guaranteed payments, accordingly, turns on *104 the meaning of the phrase "but only for the purposes of section 61(a) (relating to gross income) and section 162(a) (relating to trade or business expenses)" in
In describing the reasons for the enactment of
No inference is intended, however, that a partnership is to be considered as a separate entity for the purpose of applying other provisions of the internal revenue laws if the concept of the partnership as a collection of individuals is more appropriate for such provisions. * * * [Conf. Rept. No. 2543, to accompany H.R. 8300 (Pub. L. 591), 83d Cong., 2d Sess., p. 59 (1954).]
For purposes of
The predecessor of
In our opinion, treating the guaranteed payments as compensation for purposes of
This conclusion does not ignore the effect of the "but only" words. These words were added to
Another reason for our conclusion is that if we adopted the respondent's position, we would perpetuate many of the complexities and problems that Congress sought to eliminate by the enactment of
*763 The respondent's regulations adopt the rule that
We are aware that this Court, in
For the years in issue, 5 there was no limitation on the amount of the earned income excludable by a bona fide resident of a foreign country whose residency included an entire taxable year.
*764 We have set forth the facts relevant to this issue in our Findings*112 of Fact, and we think they establish that the petitioner was a bona fide resident of France.
The petitioner, whose assignment was not one which would take a specific period of time to accomplish, agreed to remain as managing partner of the Paris office for at least 2 years. Although he planned to return to the United States eventually, the evidence indicates that he intended to stay in Paris indefinitely. The taxpayers established a home in Paris which was the residence of three of their school-age children. Their two other children were in a United States boarding school when the petitioner left the United States. These children continued their education in the United States and spent their vacations with the petitioners abroad. The petitioners' social and cultural lives were firmly tied up with France rather than the United States. The petitioner paid French income taxes and was regarded by the French Government as a resident alien working in France. For these reasons, we hold the petitioner was a bona fide resident of France and is therefore entitled to exclude his entire earned income from sources*113 without the United States for the years 1960, 1961, and 1962.
Decision will be entered under Rule 50.
Footnotes
1. All statutory references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, unless otherwise indicated.↩
2. This figure of $ 33,705.83 was determined by the respondent in the notice of deficiency. On the basis of the amount of the petitioner's distributive share for 1962 stipulated to be attributable to his foreign service, $ 24,028.38, and the $ 10,000 received by him in 1962 pursuant to the letter agreement of June 14, 1960, this figure should properly be $ 34,028.38.↩
3.
Sec. 911↩ was amended by sec. 11(a) of the Revenue Act of 1962, 76 Stat. 961.4. Ibid↩.
5. See fn. 3, p. 757, supra↩.
6. The petitioner received earned income from sources outside the United States of $ 20,727.23 in 1961 and $ 10,184.66 in 1962. It appears that these amounts may not be entirely excludable under
sec. 911(a)(2)↩ .