Helvering v. American Chicle Co., 291 U.S. 426 (1934)

291 U.S.
426
54 S.Ct. 460
78 L.Ed. 891
HELVERING, Com'r of Internal Revenue,

v.
AMERICAN CHICLE CO.
No. 349.
Argued Feb. 6, 1934.
Decided March 5, 1934.
The Attorney General andMr. Erwin N. Griswold, of Washington, D.C.,

for petitioner.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 427-428 intentionally omitted]
Mr. Wm. C. Breed, of New York City, for respondent.
Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS delivered the opinion of the Court.
Assessments by petitioner which treated as realized income the difference

between the face value of certain bonds assumed by respondent in 1914 and the
amount at which it purchased them in 1922, 1924 and 1925, were disapproved
by the Board of Tax Appeals. The court below affirmed this action, and the
matter is here by certiorari. The meager stipulated facts present only a narrow
point; and to that our decision must be limited.
Respondent is a New Jersey corporation the nature of whose business is

undisclosed. Its books are kept on the accrual basis.
The Sen Sen Chiclet Company, incorporated under the laws of Maine, also
carried on an undiclosed business. In 1909 it issued a series of 20 year bonds
whether secured by a lien, or otherwise, does not appear. The indenture under
which they issued required that $50,000 be supplied each year which the trustee
should use for purchasing outstanding bonds.
In 1914 respondent bought all assets of the Sen Sen Company. In part payment
it assumed all outstanding liabilities of the selleramong them $2,425,000 of

the 1909 bonds. There is nothing in the record to show the nature of these
assets, or what became of them, or the outcome of the transaction.
Respondent purchased in 1922 $82,000 of the Sen Sen bonds for $55,650.94
$26,349.06 less than their face. During 1924 it and the trustee under the
indenture purchased $59,000 of the same bonds for $47,602.10$11,397.90
below their par value. Likewise, during 1925 they purchased $201,500 for
$186,146.31$15,353.69 less than their face.
The Commissioner treated these differences$26,349.06, $11,397.90 and

$15,353.69as income realized by respondent. The Board of Tax Appeals
ruled otherwise and said: 'The payments involved in the transactions under
consideration were payments on the purchase price of the Sen Sen Chiclet
Company's assets, paid, under the conditions of the agreement, to the holders of
that company's bonds. When all of the bonds have been retired by the petitioner
its obligations to the Sen Sen Chiclet Company will have been satisfied in full,
and whatever the total amount paid to retire the bonds, it will constitute a part
of the cost to petitioner of the Sen Sen Chiclet Co. assets.'
In support of the same view, the Circuit Court of Appeals said: 'When a
taxpayer gets money by issuing an obligation which he later discharges for less
than its face, the transaction is completed, because money need not be sold or
exchanged to be 'realized.' So we read United States v. Kirby Lumber Co.,
supra, 284 U.S. 1, 52 S.Ct. 4, 76 L.Ed. 131. But if he buys property by an
obligation in the form of a bond, note, or the like, and if it remains in kind after
the debt is paid, there can be no 'gain.' The cost has indeed been definitely
settled, but that is only one term of the equation; as long as the other remains at
large, there is no 'realized' gain.'
We know nothing concerning the nature of the assets acquired from the Sen
Sen Company, have no means of ascertaining what has become of them, or
whether any of them still exist. Nothing indicates whether respondent lost or
gained by the transaction.
The case before us is this:
In connection with the purchase of the assets of another company, in 1914,

respondent assumedpromised to paymore than $2,000,000 of the seller's
outstanding bonds. During 1922, 1924, and 1925 it purchased a considerable
number of these bonds in the market at less than their face. The Commissioner
assessed the difference between these two amounts as income.

10
We find nothing to distinguish this cause in principle from United States v.

Kirby Lumber Co., 284 U.S. 1, 52 S.Ct. 4, 76 L.Ed. 131. The doctrine there
announced is controlling here. Bowers v. Kerbaugh-Empire Co., 271 U.S. 170,
46 S.Ct. 449, 70 L.Ed. 886, is not applicable. The final outcome of the dealings
was revealedthe taxpayer suffered a loss. Here, for aught we know, there was
substantial profitcertainly, the record does not show the contrary. Doubtless,
respondent's books indicated a decrease of liabilities with corresponding
increase of net assets.
11
Reversed.

Helvering v. American Chicle Co., 291 U.S. 426 (1934)

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291 U.S.

HELVERING, Com'r of Internal Revenue,

The Attorney General andMr. Erwin N. Griswold, of Washington, D.C.,

Assessments by petitioner which treated as realized income the difference

Respondent is a New Jersey corporation the nature of whose business is

it assumed all outstanding liabilities of the selleramong them $2,425,000 of

The Commissioner treated these differences$26,349.06, $11,397.90 and

In connection with the purchase of the assets of another company, in 1914,

assessed the difference between these two amounts as income.

We find nothing to distinguish this cause in principle from United States v.

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