Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
No. 14-1983
Argued:
WYNN,
Decided:
Circuit
Judges,
and
January 8, 2016
HAMILTON,
Senior
231,
LLC,
Virginia
limited
liability
company,
Upon
income
and
not
capital
contribution.
Route
231
asserting
that
the
Tax
Court
erred
finding
the
forth below, we disagree with Route 231 and affirm the decision
of the Tax Court.
I.
In May 2005, Raymond Humiston and John Carr formed Route
231, a limited liability company (LLC) registered in Virginia.
Humiston and Carr each made initial capital contributions of
$2,300,000 and each received a 50% membership interest in the
LLC.
was
to
property.
own,
acquire,
(J.A. 225.)
manage
and
operate
[certain]
real
property
for
conservation
purposes
and
retained
Route
discussed
231
the
possibility
Virginia
Conservation
These
discussions
led
to
Route
231s
first
amended
49.5%.
Virginia
The
amended
Conservation
operating
agreed
to
agreement
make
an
provided
initial
that
capital
to
it.
operating
agreement
(J.A.
477,
anticipated
2.2.)
that
The
Route
first
231
amended
would
earn
result
provided
that
of
the
while
proposed
Carr
conservation
would
receive
donations,
$300,000
of
and
it
credits,
(J.A. 479,
3.6.)
Two days later, on December 29, 2005, Virginia Conservation
paid $3,816,000 into an escrow account pursuant to three escrow
agreements reflecting the three conservation donations Route 231
intended to make. 3
would
to
be
released
Route
231
upon
written
confirmation
by
One
item
listed
Taxations
transaction
was
number
the
for
Virginia
tracking
Department
the
of
conservation
Facilities
Authority,
which
was
valued
at
the
above
easement)
to
the
Nature
Conservancy,
which
was
valued at $2,072,880.
The final value of these conservation donations and hence
the amount of Virginia tax credits was slightly lower than
Route
231s
consultant
had
anticipated.
Consequently,
Carr
tax
credits
he
had
been
promised
in
the
first
amended
operating
receive
agreement
tax
so
credits
as
to
allow
equivalent
to
Virginia
the
Conservation
formula
for
Carr,
and
the
to
full
January
1,
2006,
Humiston,
Virginia
231.
The
agreement
described
the
three
specific
conservation donations the LLC had made and set out the Virginia
tax credits Route 231 had earned as a result of those donations.
It indicated that those credits have been allocated as follows:
(i)
$215,983.00
Virginia Conservation.
to
Carr
and
(ii)
$7,200,000.00
to
The
tax
forms
credits
stated
on
that
December
Route
30,
231
2005
had
(the
earned
date
of
its
the
The
Tax. 4
capital
Schedule
contributions
M-2
of
received
that
in
form
2005
lists
in
total
the
annual
amount
of
as
capital
contributions
as
well
as
the
$3,816,000
In addition, Schedule
(J.A. 120.)
While
there
are
substantive
legal
differences,
particularly for state law purposes, between partnerships and
limited
liability
companies,
they
are
treated
alike
as
partnerships for federal income tax purposes.
See supra n.1.
For
convenience,
we
refer
to
partners
and
partnerships
interchangeably with members and limited liability companies in
our discussion of the federal tax issues in this opinion.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, a partnership is a passthrough entity, meaning that although the partnership prepares
a tax return, the partnership does not pay federal income taxes.
Instead, its taxable income and losses pass through to the
individual
partners,
who
in
turn
are
liable
for
their
distributive shares of the partnerships tax items on their own
individual returns. United States v. Woods, 134 S. Ct. 557, 562
(2013).
The
Internal
indicating,
in
Revenue
relevant
Service
part,
that
sent
Route
Route
231
231
had
an
FPAA
improperly
Conservation. 5
Virginia
Route
231
challenged
that
detailed
memorandum
Commissioners
Virginia
opinion,
determination
Conservation
and
the
that
Route
Tax
the
231
Court
upheld
transaction
constituted
the
between
disguised
in
Commissioner,
Virginia
639
F.3d
Historic
129
Tax
(4th
Credit
Cir.
Fund
2011),
as
2001
LP
v.
squarely
on
Following
applicable
regulations
tax
of
707,
the
transaction
was
would
Virginia
not
have
transferred
Conservation
but
the
for
Virginia
the
fact
tax
credits
that
to
Virginia
In
this
inquiry,
operating
the
agreements
Tax
set
Court
out
the
observed
timing
that
and
the
amount
amended
of
the
binding
contractual
right
to
the
Virginia
tax
disproportionately
large
in
comparison
to
its
membership
231.
As
such,
the
Tax
Court
held
that
the
transfer
regardless
payment;
and,
of
when
third,
it
Route
received
231s
Virginia
statements
in
Conservations
its
2005
tax
231
noted
timely
appeal,
and
this
Court
has
II.
Route
231
reasserts
its
two
arguments
on
appeal.
It
Virginia
Conservation
constituted
nontaxable
capital
to Route 231, the IRS could not adjust income the LLC received
in that year. 6
Waterman v.
Accordingly, we
review the Tax Courts legal conclusions de novo and its factual
findings for clear error.
A.
It
comes
as
no
Disguised Sale
secret
that
taxpayers
often
seek
to
consequences.
Id.
at
138.
In
response,
Congress
has
Virginia
of
the
structure
Conservation
of
Route
231s
contribution
to
Id.
The
transaction
partnership
sale
of
its
assets
as
taxable
income,
partners
Id.
Id.
transaction
between
third
parties
regardless
of
the
partnership,
the
transaction
shall,
except
as
otherwise
and
one
who
is
not
partner.
I.R.C.
707(a)(1)(A).
Particularly
applicable
in
this
case
is
707(a)(2)(B),
which provides:
(B) Treatment of certain property transfers. If-(i)
there is a direct or indirect transfer of
money or other property by a partner to a
partnership,
(ii) there is a related direct or indirect
transfer of money or other property by the
partnership to such partner (or another
partner), and
(iii) the transfers described in clauses (i) and
(ii), when viewed together, are properly
characterized as a sale or exchange of
property,
such transfers shall be treated either as a
transaction described in paragraph (1) . . . .
The treasury regulations further explain when such transactions
are properly characterized as a sale or exchange of property.
See 26 C.F.R. 1.707-3. 7
In general, a partner/partnership
transaction
is
sale
if
based
on
all
the
facts
and
the
transfer
transfers
is
not
are
not
dependent
partnership operation.
simultaneous,
on
the
the
entrepreneurial
subsequent
risks
of
1.707-3(b)(1).
existence
of
sale,
including
whether
the
timing
and
other
consideration
disproportionately
general
and
by
large
continuing
the
in
partnership
to
relationship
to
interest
in
the
partnership
the
partner
is
partners
profits;
and
consideration
to
the
partnership[.]
1.707-3(b)(2).
partner/partnership
transfers
occur
within
two-year
period
1.707-3(c)(1).
This
validity
of
any
suspect
partnership
transfers.
Va.
231
takes
issue
with
the
Tax
Courts
reliance
on
Its arguments
largely
with
attempt
Conservation
partnership
to
from
distinguish
what
reported
its
occurred
series
transaction
in
of
that
Virginia
case,
transactions
where
with
investor
Id. at
132-33.
sought
The
Virginia
Historic
partnership
actively
partnership
interest
and
Id. at 133-35.
an
allocation
of
the
that the investors were not bona fide partners and that under
the relevant Code provisions and regulations, the transactions
between the investors and the [partnership] should nevertheless
be classified as sales for federal tax purposes[.]
Id. at 137.
partners,
but
found
that
the
Commissioner
Id.
correctly
After rejecting
the
partnerships
contention
constitute
property
rules,
concluded
we
presumption
that
for
the
purposes
the
the
that
of
partnership
exchange
was
tax
credits
the
disguised
failed
a
did
to
sale
sales
overcome
based
not
on
the
the
Id. at 140-46.
to
whether
its
tax
abstract.
the
emphas[is]
credits
that
always
[the
Court
constitute
was]
not
property
deciding
in
the
transfer
of
tax
credits
acquired
by
non-developer
231
contends
this
language
limited
Virginia
Historics
an
ongoing
partnership,
the
transfer
of
tax
credits
was
not
investors.
sale
of
property
by
sham
entity
to
transitory
We note initially
that Route 231 does not challenge the validity of 707 or the
15
corresponding regulations.
facts
and
surrounding
circumstances
its
transaction
test
with
to
the
circumstances
Virginia
Conservation.
Although Route 231 denies doing so, most of its arguments center
on the premise that as Virginia Conservation is a bona fide
partner
in
bona
fide
partnership,
its
partner/partnership
to
involved
the
transaction
at
are
bona
entities
fide
issue
here
in
because
genuine
the
entities
contractual
relationship.
The Commissioner does not contest that Route 231 is a valid
entity or that Virginia Conservation is a true partner in it.
Neither did the Tax Court rely on a failure of the bona fides of
the entities in reaching its decision.
partnership
without
qualification
whenever
partner
transaction,
participants
to
that
not
to
the
transaction.
general
Contrary
status
to
of
Route
the
231s
transactions
between
otherwise
valid
ongoing
in
Virginia
Historic
we
expressly
did
not
limit
707s
scope
to
sham
partnerships.
Quite
the
nonetheless
constituted
disguised
sale
under
this
to
Conservation
and
the
Route
specific
231s
circumstances
transaction,
we
of
Virginia
first
determine
its conclusion that the Virginia tax credits are property for
purposes of I.R.C. 707.
is
evidenced
by
their
as
an
inducement
to
Virginia
Moreover,
to
exclude
others
from
ownership,
and
the
right
to
Nor did Virginia Historic limit 707(a)s scope to nondeveloper partnerships as Route 231 contends.
To be sure, in
examining the transaction at issue in Virginia Historic, we
pointed out that our holding that the tax credits were property
arose in the factual context of a non-developer partnership,
and
that
tax
credits
may
not
categorically
constitute
property.
But this language simply recognizes the factual
setting of Virginia Historic and reflects the requisite analysis
of property must be made in each case and not taken as a per
se rule.
18
In addition, as we
period,
the
disguised
sale
arises
presumption
unless
that
the
the
facts
transaction
and
is
circumstances
transfer
of
money
would
not
have
been
made
without
the
26
C.F.R. 1.707-3(b)(1).
The analysis of these two considerations is based on the
totality of the facts and circumstances, including the ten
potentially
applicable
1.707-3(b)(2).
factors
noted
earlier.
26
C.F.R.
19
facts
and
circumstances
form
the
basis
for
our
Viewing
all
and
the
circumstances
surrounding
this
transaction,
in
$7,200,000
of
Virginia
tax
credits
to
Virginia
C.F.R. 1.707-3(b)(1)(i).
Moreover, Virginia Conservations right to the tax credits
did
not
depend
operations.
on
the
entrepreneurial
risks
of
Route
231s
Arguing to the
entrepreneurial
partnership,
but
whether
later
the
26
risks
C.F.R.
of
the
as
partner
in
1.707-3(b)(1)(ii)
two
transfers
an
ongoing
focuses
depended
on
on
the
They also
At bottom,
within
facts
two
and
years
are
presumed
circumstances
to
clearly
be
sale
establish
otherwise).
in
with
agreeing
the
Commissioner
that
the
money
Route
231
Conservation
should
have
been
reported
as
income,
If Route
because the IRS did not seek an adjustment of Route 231s 2006
tax return on that ground and any change to that tax year is now
barred
by
the
statute
of
limitations.
See
I.R.C.
6229
an
initial
matter,
Route
231
remains
bound
by
its
That
that
this
transaction
occurred,
how
does
the
Internal
have
previously
recognized
with
approval
the
Fifth
11
Route
the exhibits
occurred in
supports the
address those
It arises rather
from the duty of disclosure which the law puts on the taxpayer,
along with the duty of handling his accounting so it will fairly
subject his income to taxation. Id. at 8, relied on favorably
in Interlochen Co. v. Commr, 232 F.2d 873, 877-78 (4th Cir.
1956).
Thus,
in
Wichita
Coca
Cola
Bottling
Co.,
the
Fifth
152 F.2d at
8.
The same basic principle applies here.
tax return, Route 231 represented to the IRS that the events
constituting the transaction occurred in 2005.
be
allowed
to
assert
the
transaction
occurred
in
A taxpayer may
an
effort
to
avoid
liability
based
on
the
altered
tax
461 F.3d 1080, 1085 (9th Cir. 2006) ([T]he duty of consistency
not only reflects basic fairness, but also shows a proper regard
for the administration of justice and the dignity of the law.
The law should not be such a[n] idiot that it cannot prevent a
taxpayer from changing the historical facts from year to year in
order to escape a fair share of the burdens of maintaining our
government.
honesty,
rather
than
upon
hiding
of
the
pea
or
forgetful
fixed
for
one
year
ought
to
remain
fixed
in
all
its
25
representation
that
the
transfer
of
funds
from
Virginia
also
conclude
that
the
record
demonstrates
the
sale
of
In particular,
the record supports the Tax Courts determination that Route 231
transferred to Virginia Conservation before January 1, 2006 the
12
tax
credits
that
it
had
earned
because
of
the
December
30
conservation donation.
Under
the
then-applicable
Virginia
statute,
Va.
Code
The
statute set out among other things the value of the tax
credits (50% of the fair market value), what type of donation
qualified, and how the fair market value of the donation was to
be substantiated.
As the Tax
Va.
and
Department
of
Taxation
number
earned
of
requirements.
it
tax
only
speculates
might
have
credits
that
decreased
despite
having
the
the
Virginia
anticipated
satisfied
those
27
noted
earlier,
corollary
principle
applies
when
the
transfer from the partner occurs after the transfer from the
partnership.
appropriately
to
applied
multi-factor
analysis
13
determine
The relevant
the
interest
created
parties
treated
in
property
the
present
the
transaction;
was
obligation
acquired;
on
the
whether
whether
seller
an
the
to
equity
contract
execute
and
whether
the
right
of
possession
was
vested
in
the
1327-28 (11th Cir. 2012); Arevalo v. Commr, 469 F.3d 436, 439
(5th Cir. 2006); Crooks v. Commr, 453 F.3d 653, 656 (6th Cir.
2006); Upham v. Commr, 923 F.2d 1328, 1334 (8th Cir. 1991).
No
already
discussed
Route
231s
representation
on
its
2005
In addition, the
first
amended
operating
agreement
(signed
on
December
28)
recording
the
statutory-compliant
conservation
donation
on
been
respectively.
allocated
(J.A.
to
504,
Carr
508,
and
517.)
Virginia
Lastly,
Conservation,
in
additional
Consistent with
that view, when a concern arose as to who bore the risk of loss
and
owned
any
interest
earned
while
the
funds
were
held
in
earned.
During
those
discussions,
Route
231
affirmed
that
2005)
satisfied
[its]
contractual
obligation
to
(J.A. 608.)
other
parties
transaction
occurred,
to
in
to
the
transaction
all
occur,
and
treated
transaction
2005
throughout
the
the
intended
negotiations
up
for
as
the
having
until
the
its
federal
tax
return;
and
the
first
amended
operating
conservation
donation
transaction numbers.
the
totality
of
and
the
Virginia
tax
credit
circumstances
into
31
consideration
rather
than
also
agreements,
required
finds
which
the
support
provide
escrow
in
that
agent
to
the
language
only
two
return
of
events
the
the
This
escrow
automatically
funds
to
Virginia
Both those
events were known and satisfied before the end of 2005, so the
escrow agreements contingency could not have occurred in 2006.
The remaining acts Route 231 points to as showing a sale of
tax credits did not occur in 2005 that it provide Virginia
Conservation
copies
of
certain
documents
relating
to
the
of
no
substantive.
consequence.
The
escrow
These
acts
agreements
are
only
ministerial,
speak
to
Route
not
231
outcome
process.
of
the
Virginia
Department
of
Taxations
review
In the unlikely
event
that
the
Virginia
Department
of
Taxation
reduced
the
operating
directed
how
agreements
Virginia
(not
the
Conservation
escrow
would
agreements)
be
compensated.
portion
of
Conservation in 2005.
its
earned
tax
credits
to
Virginia
method
of
accounting,
and
under
it uses the
the
principles
income
must
be
included
in
the
gross
income
for
the
is
period.
to
be
I.R.C.
properly
accounted
451(a).
Under
for
an
as
of
accrual
different
method
of
the
accuracy.
amount
thereof
can
be
determined
26 C.F.R. 1.451-1(a).
33
with
reasonable
Although
elaborating
on
we
what
do
not
all
the
have
any
events
published
means
for
authority
purposes
of
that
other
cases
have
used:
(1)
the
required
T.C. 448, 459 (1997), revd in part on other grounds, 184 F.3d
786 (8th Cir. 1999).
Here, Route 231 earned Virginia Conservations $3,816,000
payment
with
conservation
credits.
reasonable
donations
certainty
that
gave
in
2005
rise
to
when
it
made
the
the
Virginia
tax
in
turn,
that
occurrence
was
sufficient
to
obligate
Virginia Conservation to pay Route 231 the pre-determined cashto-credit ratio for the tax credits.
Consequently, by December
31, 2005, all the events [had] occurred which fix[ed] the right
to
receive
the
amount
Cf. 26
C.F.R.
[Virginia
1.451-1(a).
Conservations
Accordingly,
34
money]
the
Tax
and
Court
correctly
was
obligated
to
report
the
$3,816,000
in
income
from
III.
For the reasons set out above, we affirm the Tax Courts
decision adjusting Route 231s 2005 Return of Partnership Income
federal
tax
form
to
reflect,
in
relevant
part,
income
of
$3,816,000.
AFFIRMED
35