UNITED STATES TAX COURT

' \%Þ

SEC

145 T.C. No. 2

UNITED STATES TAX COURT

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT, LLC, AS SUCCESSOR TO MARVEL

ENTERTAINMENT, INC., f.k.a. MARVEL ENTERPRISES, INC. AND AS

AGENT FOR MEMBERS OF MARVEL ENTERPRISES, INC. AND

SUBSIDIARIES GROUP, Petitioner v.

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent

Docket No. 12113-13.

Filed July 21, 2015.

MEG was an affiliated group that filed consolidated returns.

On Dec. 27, 1996, certain MEG member entities filed for bankruptcy

under 11 U.S.C. ch. 11 and subsequently excluded cancellation of

indebtedness (COD) income from their respective gross incomes

under I.R.C. sec. 108(a)(1)(A) for MEG's short taxable year ending

Oct. 1, 1998. Pursuant to I.R.C. sec. 108(b)(2)(A), MEG reduced

each member entity's allocable share of consolidated net operating

loss (CNOL) by each member entity's previously excluded COD

income. MEG carried forward into its successor affiliated group a

$47,424,026 CNOL and used this amount to offset income of the

successor group for its taxable years ending Dec. 31, 2003 and 2004.

R determined deficiencies for 2003 and 2004, arguing that

I.R.C. sec. 108(b)(2)(A) required MEG's 1998 tax attribute reduction

to occur at the consolidated level rather than at the individual entity

SERVED Jul 21 2015

-2-

level. P, the successor to MEG and as agent for the members of the

affiliated group, timely filed a petition disputing R's determinations.

Held: Where a member of a consolidated group has excluded

COD income during a consolidated return year before the adoption of

sec. 1.1502-28T, Temporary Income Tax Regs., 69 Fed. Reg. 12071

(Mar. 15, 2004), the NOL subject to reduction pursuant to I.R.C. sec.

108(b)(2)(A) is the entire CNOL of the consolidated group. See

United Dominion Indus., Inc. v. United States, 532 U.S. 822 (2001).

Mark J. Silverman, Michael H. Salama, Matthew D. Lerner, and Andrew F.

Gordon, for petitioner.

Curt M. Rubin and Steven N. Balahtsis, for respondent.

OPINION

RUWE, Judge: Respondent determined deficiencies in petitioner's Federal

income tax for its consolidated taxable return years ending December 31, 2003

and 2004, of $2,144,756 and $14,453,653, respectively. Petitioner's deficiencies

result from members of its predecessor consolidated group filing for bankruptcy

under 11 U.S.C. chapter 11 and realizing cancellation of indebtedness (COD)

income for the consolidated group's short taxable year ending October 1, 1998.

Certain members of the predecessor consolidated group excluded the COD income

--3 from their respective gross incomes pursuant to section 108(a)(1)(A).¹ When

subsequently reducing net operating loss (NOL) as required by section

108(b)(2)(A), each debtor member of the consolidated group reduced its allocable

share of the group's consolidated net operating loss (CNOL) by its previously

excluded COD income.

This matter is before the Court on the parties' cross-motions for summary

judgment pursuant to Rule 121. The parties have asked this Court to decide, as a

matter of law, whether a consolidated group's NOL subject to reduction under

section 108(b)(2)(A) for its short taxable year ending October 1, 1998, is (1) the

entire CNOL of the consolidated group or (2) a portion of the CNOL allocable to

each member of the consolidated group. Accordingly, the only issue before the

Court is the legal question concerning the NOL subject to reduction under section

108(b)(2)(A). This is an issue of first impression in this Court.

¹Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code (Code) in effect for all relevant years, and all Rule references are to

the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.

-4Background

At the time the petition was filed, the principal place of business for Marvel

Entertainment, LLC (petitioner),2 was in New York, New York.

On December 27, 1996, Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (MEG), and

certain of its operating and inactive subsidiaries--Fleer Corp. (Fleer), Skybox

International, Inc., Marvel Characters, Inc., Heroes World Distribution, Inc.

(Heroes), the Asher Candy Co., Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (Malibu),

Frank H. Fleer Corp., and Marvel Direct Marketing, Inc.-filed voluntary petitions

for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code with the U.S. Bankruptcy

Court for the District of Delaware. At the time of its bankruptcy filings, MEG and

its subsidiaries filed consolidated Federal income tax returns as members of a

consolidated group of corporations whose common parent was Mafco Holdings,

Inc.

2Petitioner is an entertainment company known for its comic book

characters. On September 16, 2005, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Marvel

Enterprises), merged with its wholly owned subsidiary Marvel Entertainment, Inc.,

with Marvel Enterprises surviving the merger but changing its name to Marvel

Entertainment, Inc. On December 31, 2009, Marvel Entertainment, Inc., was

acquired by the Walt Disney Co. (Disney) and was merged into Maverick Merger

Sub, LLC (Maverick), a Delaware limited liability company wholly owned by

Disney. Upon filing the certificate of merger with the secretary of state for the

State of Delaware, Maverick changed its name to Marvel Entertainment, LLC

(petitioner).

-5On April 24, 1997, MEG and its subsidiaries became a separate affiliated

group (MEG Group) and filed consolidated Federal income tax returns for the

short taxable years ending December 31, 1997, and October 1, 1998.

On October 1, 1998, MEG Group was acquired by Toy Biz, Inc. (Toy Biz),

pursuant to MEG Group's fourth amended plan of reorganization (fourth plan of

reorganization). MEG and its subsidiaries became members of a new consolidated

group of which Toy Biz was the common parent. As part of the transaction Toy

Biz changed its name to Marvel Enterprises, Inc. In conneçtion with the fourth

plan of reorganization, four MEG Group members had certain debts eliminated

and realized COD income as follows:

Member

COD income

MEG

Fleer

Heroes

Malibu

Total

$2,497,828

163,680,402

4,930,767

353,466

171,462,463

MEG, Fleer, Heroes, and Malibu each excluded its COD income from their

respective gross incomes for the short taxable year ending October 1, 1998,

pursuant to section 108(a)(1)(A).

Section 108(b)(2)(A) provides that the amount excluded under section

108(a)(1)(A) shall be applied to reduce tax attributes starting with any net

-6operating loss for the taxable year and any net operating loss carryover to such

taxable year. As of October 1, 1998, MEG Group had a CNOL of $187,154,680.

For purposes of applying section 108(b)(2)(A), MEG Group allocated the CNOL

among its consolidated group members as follows:

Member

Share of CNOL

MEG

Fleer

Heroes

Malibu

Total

$71,330,567

82,656,671

4,058,504

2,707,590

¹160,753,332

¹As of Oct. 1, 1998, MEG Group had a CNOL of $187,154,680. The record

does not explain where the remaining $26,401,348 was allocated.

On its consolidated Federal income tax return for the short taxable year

ending October 1, 1998, MEG Group reduced the share of CNOL separately

attributable to each of MEG, Fleer, Heroes, and Malibu by the lesser of (1) each

member's excluded COD income or (2) each member's allocable share of CNOL,

as follows:

MEG

Fleer

Heroes

Malibu

Total

Allocated

CNOL

Excluded

COD income

Reduction of

CNOL

Remaining

CNOL .

$71,330,567

82,656,671

4,058,504

2,707,590

160,753,332

$2,497,828

163,680,402

4,930,767

353,466

171,462,463

$2,497,828

82,656,671

4,058,504

353,466

89,566,469

$68,832,739

-0-02,354,124

71,186,863

-7MEG Group joined the Marvel Group on October 2, 1998, and carried

forward into the Marvel Group its remaining $97,588,2113 CNOL (CNOL

carryforward). The CNOL carryforward was subsequently decreased to

$96,391,831 on December 21, 1998, to reflect the dissolution of Fleer.

Respondent examined MEG Group's consolidated Federal income tax return for

its short taxable year ending October 1, 1998, and made no adjustments to the

claimed CNOL carryforward.

MEG Group's CNOL carryforward of $96,391,831 was used by the Marvel

Group in subsequent years to offset income as follows:

Taxable Year Ending

CNOL carryforward

Income offset

Remaining CNOL

Dec. 31, 1999

Dec. 31, 2001

Dec. 31, 2002

$96,391,831

95,594,152

65,731,334

$797,679

29,862,818

18,307,308

$95,594,152

65,731,334

47,424,026

Respondent did not examine the Marvel Group's consolidated returns for its

taxable years 1999, 2001, and 2002. The Marvel Group claimed a CNOL

carryforward of $47,424,026 into its taxable year ending December 31, 2003.

On March 28, 2013, respondent mailed to petitioner a notice of deficiency

determining deficiencies for petitioner's taxable years 2003 and 2004 of

3This amount represents MEG Group's original $187,154,680 CNOL less

$89,566,469 of total reduction of CNOL as of October 1, 1998. The CNOL

carryforward was limited by sec. 382.

-8$2,144,756 and $14,453,653, respectively. In the notice of deficiency respondent

challenged the Marvel Group's computation of the CNOL carryforward and took

the position that MEG Group should properly have reduced its $187,154,680

CNOL as of October 1, 1998, by $171,462,463, the total of excluded COD income

for MEG, Fleer, Heroes, and Malibu. This reduction would have resulted in a

remaining CNOL as of October 2, 1998, and carried into the Marvel Group subject

to the limitations of section 382, of $15,692,217. Petitioner timely filed a petition

disputing the determinations in the notice of deficiency.

Discussion

Either party may move for summary judgment regarding all or any part of

the legal issues in controversy. See Rule 121(a). Summary judgment is intended

to expedite litigation and to avoid unnecessary and expensive trials. Shiosaki v.

Commissioner, 61 T.C. 861, 862 (1974). Summary judgment is appropriate where

the pleadings and other materials show that there is no genuine dispute as to any

material fact and that a decision may be rendered as a matter of law. Rule 121(a)

and (b); Sundstrand Corp. v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 518, 520 (1992), aff'd, 17

F.3d 965 (7th Cir. 1994). The burden is on the moving party to demonstrate that

no genuine dispute as to any material fact remains and that it is entitled to

judgment as a matter of law. FPL Grp., Inc. & Subs. v. Commissioner, 116 T.C.

_9_

73, 74-75 (2001). In deciding whether to grant summary judgment the Court must

consider the factual materials and inferences drawn from them in the light most

favorable to the nonmoving party. Bond v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 32, 36

(1993); Naftel v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 527, 529 (1985). However, the

nonmoving party is required "to go beyond the pleadings and by * * * [its] own

affidavits, or by the 'depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on

file,' designate 'specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'"

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324 (1986); see also Rauenhorst v.

Commissioner, 119 T.C. 157, 175 (2002); FPL Grp., Inc. &.Subs. v.

Commissioner, 115 T.C. 554, 559 (2000). Summary judgment is appropriate in

the matter sub judice because the parties agree on all material facts and the only

dispute we must resolve is one of law.

In MEG Group's short taxable year ending October 1, 1998, four of its

consolidated group members realized total COD income of $171,462,463 resulting

from bankruptcy filings under chapter 11. Each of the four MEG Group debtor

members excluded the COD income from its respective gross incomes under

section 108(a)(1)(A). MEG Group also had a $187,154,680 CNOL for its short

taxable year ending October 1, 1998. Under section 108(b)(2)(A), MEG Group

allocated a portion of the group's CNOL to each of the four MEG Group debtor

- 10 members and reduced the allocated CNOL shares by each member's previously

excluded COD income. As a result, MEG Group reduced its $187,154,680 CNOL

by $89,566,469 of the $171,462,463 in excluded COD income.

The sole issue for decision is whether the NOL subject to reduction under

section 108(b)(2)(A) is the entire CNOL of à consolidated group (single-entity

approach) or a portion of a consolidated group's CNOL allocable to each group

member (separate-entity approach). Respondent argues that the "'NOL' that must

be reduced under section 108 is the entire CNOL" of a consolidated group.

According to respondent, "the MEG Group should properly have reduced its

$187,154,680 CNOL as of October 1, 1998 by $171,462,463, the total of the

excluded COD income for each of Fleer, Heroes, MEG and Malibu resulting in a

remaining CNOL as of October 2, 1998 * * * of $15,692,217." Respondent

concludes that this method of tax attribute reduction would have "result[ed] ih $0

of CNOL carryover into the * * * [Marvel Group] consolidated return taxable

years ending December 31, 2003 and December 31, 2004."

Petitioner argues that the NOL subject to reduction under section

108(b)(2)(A) is limited to the share of a consolidated group's CNOL allocable to

each member entity. Specifically, petitioner asserts that "where a taxpayer that is a

member of a consolidated group excluded COD income from gross income during

- 11 a taxable year ended October 1, 1998 pursuant.to sectiori 108(a)( )(A), the 'net

operating loss' or 'net operating loss carryover' of the taxpayer that was subject to

reduction under section 108(b)(2)(A) was the portion of the CNOL of the .

consolidated group attributable to such member."

1. Preliminary Matter

In the notice of deficiency respondent challenged MEG Group's use of the

separate-entity approach and took the position that MEG Group should properly

have reduced its $187,154,680 CNOL for its short taxable year ehding October 1,

1998, by $171,462,463, the total of excluded COD income for the four MEG

Group debtor members. The single-entity approach advocated by respondent

would have resulted in a remaining CNOL of $15,692,217 for MEG Group

.

following.its short taxable year endinp, October 1, 1998. Althoudh the notice of

deficiency pertains to petitioner's 2003 and 2004 calendar tax years, the resolution

of the instant matter depends on the appropriate method of tax attribute reduction

used by MEG Group for its short taxable year ending October 1, 1998. Both

parties agree that, if the separate-entity approach is proper pursuant to section

108(b)(2)(A), petitioner is not liable for any income tax deficiencies for 2003 and

2004. On the other hand, the parties agree that if the single-entity approach is

- 12proper pursuant to section 108(b)(2)(A), petitioner is liable for the additional tax

as set forth in the notice of deficiency.

Section 172(e) provides that "[i]n determining the amount of any net operating loss carryback or carryover to any taxable year, the necessary

computations involving any other taxable year shall be made under the law

applicable to such other taxable year." The law governing the instant matter is the

law applicable for the year in which the COD income was excluded by MEG,

Fleer, Heroes, and Malibu. See Laney v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1997-403,

1997 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 484, at *32 ("[T]he nature and amount of the

carryover item is determined and redetermined under the law in effect for the year

in which the carryover item arose * * * rather than the year(s) to which the

carryover item is carried."), aff'd without published opinion, 168 F.3d 482 (4th

Cir. 1999). Accordingly, the resolution of this case will be based on the,relevant

law in effect for petitioner's short taxable year ending October 1, 1998.

2. Applicable Law

Section 61(a) generally defines gross income as "all income from whatever

source derived". This includes income from the "discharge of indebtedness". Sec.

61(a)(12); see also Gitlitz v. Commissioner, 531 U.S. 206, 213 (2001). Section

108(a) provides certain exceptions to this general rule. One of these exceptions

- 13 provides that COD income is excluded from the taxpayer's gross income if "the

discharge occurs in a title 11 case".4 Sec. 108(a)(1)(A). However, the price of

exclusion is that certain of the taxpayer's favorable tax attributes must be reduced

to the extent of the excluded COD income. Section 108(b) provides, in pertinent

part:

SEC. 108(b). Reduction of Tax Attributes.-(1) In general.--The amount excluded from gross income

under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (a)(1) shall

be applied to reduce the tax attributes of the taxpayer as

provided in paragraph (2).

(2) Tax attributes affected; order of reduction.--Except as

provided in paragraph (5), the reduction referred to in

paragraph (1) shall be made in the following tax attributes in

the following order:

(A) NOL.--Any net operating loss for the taxable

year of the discharge, and any net operating loss

carryover to such taxable year.

Both parties agree that, pursuant to section 108(a)(1)(A), MEG, Fleer,

Heroes, and Malibu correctly excluded their portions of $171,462,463 of COD

income from their respective gross incomes for the short taxable year ending

October 1, 1998. The parties also agree that MEG Group had a $187,154,680

CNOL for its short taxable year ending October 1, 1998. However, the parties

4Title 11 governs bankruptcy cases.

- 14 disagree over what constitutes a taxpayer's NOL under section 108(b)(2)(A) when

that taxpayer is a member of a consolidated group. Respondent contends that the

NOL subject to reduction is the consolidated group's entire CNOL. Petitioner

contends that the NOL subject to reduction is an allocable portion of CNOL

attributable to each member of the consolidated group. Whether the NOL to be

reduced under section 108(b)(2)(A) is the entire CNOL or an allocable portion of

the CNOL is the sole issue for resolution in this case.

3. United Dominion

To resolve the issue in this case we must determine whether a consolidated

group can allocate and apportion its CNOL to its consolidated group members so

that each member can have a separate NOL subject to reduction under section 108.

Respondent's primary position is that consolidated group members are prohibited

from having separate NOLs unless specifically authorized to do so by a provision

of the consolidated return regulations. Respondent asserts that "[t]he question of

whether members of a consolidated group have separate NOLs was considered and

decided by the Supreme Court in United Dominion Indus., Inc. v. * * * [United

States], 532.U.S. 822.(2001)". Petitioner contends that United Dominion

"addressed an entirely different question than the issue before this Court, a

question that had nothing to do with section 108."

- 15 United Dominion involved the appropriate method for calculating product

liability losses (PLL) of an affiliated group of corporations that elected to file a

consolidated return. For the years at issue in United Dominion (i:e.,.1983-1986),

section 172 allowed PLLs to be carried back 10 years rather than the 3 years

generally permitted for normal NOLs. A taxpayer's PLL was defined in section

172(j)(1) as the lesser of: (1) the taxpayer's NOL for the year and (2) the

taxpayer's allowable deductions attributable to product liability expenses (PLE).

In other words, a taxpayer's PLL was the total of its PLEs, limited to the amount

of its NOL. United Dominion, 532 U.S. at 825.

The issue presented in United Dominion was how to calculate the PLL of.a

consolidated group eligible for the 10-year carryback under secti 540n

172. The

Government argued that the PLL of a consolidated group membe should be

determined using a "'separate-member' approach" (i.e., comparing each group

member's PLEs to that member's separate NOL). Id. at 828, 831 The

Government proposed that a group member's negative separate taxable income

should serve as a proxy for that member's separate NOL. IcL Pu suant to this

approach, PLE 541

"incurred by an affiliate with positive separate taxable income

cannot contribute to a PLL eligible for 10-year carryback." Id. at 828. Therefore,

- 16 under the Government's methodology, the taxpayer would have been prevented

from taking full advantage of certain group members' PLEs.

The taxpayer argued that the PLLs for a consolidated group should be

determined using a "'single-entity' approach" (i.e., comparing the consolidated

group's CNOL to the aggregate PLEs of the group members). E at 827. The

single-entity approach benefited the taxpayer in United Dominion because its

CNOL exceeded its aggregate PLEs in each of the years at issue, thus making all

PLEs eligible for a 10-year carryback.

The Supreme Court began its opinion by rejecting the Government's

argument that a consolidated group member's separate taxable income acts as a

"surrogate" for a separate NOL, thereby allowing a group member's separate

taxable income to be compared with its PLEs in order to determine a separate

PLL.5 E at 831-832. The Court explained portions of the consolidated return

regulations pertaining to consolidated taxable income and CNOL as follows:

5The Court explained that a consolidated group member's separate taxable

income "excludes several items that an individual taxpayer would normally

account for in computing income or loss, but which an affiliated group may tally

only at the consolidated level, such as capital gains and losses, charitable-

contribution deductions, and dividends-received deductions." United Dominion

Indus., Inc. v. United States, 532 U.S. 822, 832 (2001). This causes a group

member's separate taxable income to be inflated by eliminating certain deductions

or deflated by eliminating certain items of income such as capital gains. Id.

- 17 Under Treas. Regs. §§1.1502-11(a) and 1.1502-21(f), an affiliated

group's "consolidated taxable income" (CTI), or, alternatiVely, its

"consolidated net operating loss" (CNOL), is determined by "taking

into account" several items. The first is the "separate taxable

income" (STI) of each group member. A member's STI (whether

positive or negative) is computed as though the member were a

separate corporation (i.e., by netting income and expenses), but

subject to several important "modifications." Treas. Reg. § 1.150212. These modifications require a group member calculating its STI

to disregard,. among other items, its capital gains and.losseç,

charitable-contribution deductions, and dividends-received

deductions. Ibid. These excluded items are accounted for on a

consolidated basis, that is, they are combined at the level of the group

filing the single return, where deductions otherwise attributable to .

one member (say, for a charitable contribution) can offset income

received by another (from a capital gain, for example). Treas. Regs.

§§ 1.1502-11(a)(3) to (8); 1.1502-21(f)(2) to (6). A consolidated

group's CTI or CNOL, therefore, is the sum of each member's STI,

plus or minus a handful of items considered on a consolidated basis.

United Dominion, 532 U.S. at 826.

The Supreme Court ultimately agreed with the taxpayer, hólding (8 to 1)

that a "group's product liability loss must be figured on a consÀli ated basis in the

first instance, and not by aggregating product liability losses sep rately determined

company by company." I_dd. at 824. In arriving at this conclusion the Court

examined the consolidated return regulations and emphasized that "the Code and

regulations governing affiliated groups of corporations filing consolidated returns

provide only one definition of NOL: 'consolidated' NÓL". Id. at 829. The Court

- 18 also instructed that a generally applicable concept of a separate NOL in the

consolidated return context "simply does not exist." Id. at 830.

The Court's analysis was as follows:

The first step in applying the definition and methodology of

PLL to a taxpayer filing a consolidated return thus requires the

calculation of NOL. As * * * [the taxpayer] correctly points out, the

Code and regulations governing affiliated groups of corporations

filing consolidated returns provide only one definition of NOL:

"consolidated" NOL, see Treas. Reg. § 1.1502-21(f). There is no

definition of separate NOL for a member of an affiliated group.

Indeed, the fact that Treasury Regulations do provide a measure of

separate NOL in a different context, for an affiliated corporation as to

aný year in which it filed a separate return, infra, at 832-834,

underscores the absence of such a measure for an affiliated

corporation filing as a group member. Given this apparently

exclusive defimition of NOL as CNOL in the instance of affiliated

entities with a consolidated return (and for reasons developed below,

infra, at 834-838) we think it is fair to say, as * * * [the taxpayer]

says, that the concept of separate NOL "simply does not exist." Brief

for Petitioner 15. The exclusiveness of NOL at the consolidated level

as CNOL is important here for the following reasons. The Code's

authorization of consolidated group treatment contains no indication

that for a consolidated group the essential relationship between NOL

and PLL will differ from their relationship for a conventional

corporate taxpayer. Nor does any Treasury Regulation purport to

change the relationship in the consolidated context. If, then, the

relationship is to remain essentially the same, the key to

understanding it lies in the regulations' definition of net operating

loss exclusively at the consolidated level. Working back from that,

PLEs should be considered first in calculating CNOL, and they are:

because any PLE of an affiliate affects the calculation of its STI, that

same PLE necessarily affects the CTI or CNOL in exactly the same

way, dollar for dollar. And because, by definition, there is no NOL

measure for a consolidated return group or any affiliate except

- 19 CNOL, PLEs cannot be compared with any NOL to produée PLL

until CNOL has been calculated. Then, and only then in tide case of

the consolidated filer, can total PLEs be compared with a net

operating loss. In sum, comparable treatment of PLL in the instances

of the usual corporate taxpayer and group filing a consolidated return

can be achieved only if the comparison of PLEs with a limiting loss

amount occurs at the consolidated level after CNOL has been

determined. This approach resting on comparable treatment has a

further virtue entitled to some weight in case of doubt: it is

(relatively) easy to understand and to apply.

[United Dominion, 532 U.S. at 829-831; fn. ref. omitted.]

The Court also examined section 1.1502-79(a)(3), Income Tax Regs.,.which

apportions a consolidated group's CNOL to members of the group for the purpose

of carrying back losses to separate return years.6 The Court acknowledged that

section 1.1502-79(a)(3), Income Tax Regs., provides a close analogy for a separate

member NOL but found that this regulation applies only narrowly to determine

carryback and carryforward NOLs to separate return years in which the member

was not part of the consolidated group. The Court reasoned that, because no

carrybacks to separate return years were at issue, section 1.1502-79(a)(3), Income

6Sec. 1.1502-79(a)(3), Income Tax Regs., is the precursor to sec. 1.150221(b)(2)(iv), Income Tax Regs., and allows for the allocation or apportionment of

CNOL in limited circumstances. Under this regulation the amount of CNOL that

is apportioned to a consolidated group member is the amount attributable to the

member, which is the group's CNOL multiplied by a fraction. The numerator of

the fraction is the separate NOL of the member, and the denominator is the sum of

the separate NOLs of all group members in such year having such losses.

- 20 Tax Regs., was inapplicable in calculating the taxpayer's PLL using the separateentity approach. Ld, at 833. In describing the inapplicability of the apportionment

rules, the Court stated that section 1.1502-79(a)(3), Income Tax Regs., "unbakes

the cake for only one reason, and that reason has no application here." Id.

Petitioner's argument that United Dominion addresses an issue distinctly

different from tax attribute reduction under section 108 fails to recognize that the

Supreme Court's decision concerning the proper computation of a consolidated

group's PLL could only have been reached by first determining whether members

of a consolidated group have separate NOLs. We agree with petitioner that United

Dominion concerned the application of PLL carryback rules in the consolidated

group context. However, a central prerequisite to the Supreme Court's decision in

United Dominion was the legal determination of whether separate NOLs exist for

consolidated group members where no specific rule provides authority for NOL

computation on a separate-entity basis.

Despite the fact that the matter currently before the Court involves the

application of section 108(b)(2)(A)--rather than section 172--the critical issue is

identical to that in United Dominion: whether the pre-2003 consolidated return

regulations allow for the separate-entity approach. The Supreme Court in United

Dominion concluded that a consolidated group member cannot have a separate

- 21 NOL for a consolidated return year unless a specific consolidated return regulation

allocates and apportions part of the CNOL to that member. No such regulation

existed for petitioner's short taxable year ending October 1, 1998, and therefore

the proper NOL subject to reduction under section 108(b)(2)(A) is petitioner's

CNOL. In applying the Supreme Court's holding in United Dominion to the

matter currently before us, we conclude that the NOL subject to reduction under

section 108(b)(2)(A) for petitioner's short tax year ending October 1, 1998, is the

consolidated group's CNOL.

4. Petitioner's Arguments

a. Statutory Language

Despite our conclusion above that United Dominion is dispositive in the

instant matter, we nonetheless will address petitioner's remaining arguments.

Petitioner argues that the "clear and unambiguous" language of section 108

pertains exclusively to the individual members of a consolidated group.

According to petitioner, the words " the taxpayer" in both section 108(b)(1) and

(2) "refer[s] only to the debtor member [of a consolidated group] that has excluded

COD income as a result of that member's bankruptcy." Petitioner therefore

reasons that "the tax attributes" subject to reduction under section 108(b)(2)(A)

cannot include the CNOL of the entire affiliated group because "the CNOL is not

- 22 an attribute belonging to an individual member of a consolidated group, and thus

cannot be what is reduced under section 108(b)."

Respondent does not dispute that "the statutory language appears to have

been written with stand-alone companies in mind." However, respondent

contends that "this is a common statutory construct, because Congress delegated

authority to the Secretary to promulgate regulations that would make the

adjustments necessary to apply general Code provisions to groups filing

consolidated returns."

When the relevant statutory language is clear and unambiguous and the

statutory scheme is coherent and consistent, the Court's function is to apply the

statute as written and according to its terms. Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S.

337, 340 (1997); Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 329-330 (2000). The

statute must be read as a whole, and the meaning of a particular portion of a

statutory provision must be determined with reference to its context. See FDA v.

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 529 U.S. 120, 133 (2000). If a statute is

ambiguous or silent, we may look to the statute's legislative history in an attempt

to determine congressional intent. Burlington N. R.R. v. Okla. Tax Comm'n, 481

U.S. 454, 461 (1987); Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. at 329-330.

- 23 Section 108(a)(1)(A) provides, in pertinent part, that "[g]ross income does

not include any amount which (but for this subsection) would be includible in

gross income by reason of the discharge (in whole or in part) of indebtedness of

the taxpayer if * * * the discharge occurs in a title 11 case". (Emphasis added.)

Section 108(b)(1) further provides that "[t]he amount excluded from gross income

* * * shall be applied to reduce the tax attributes of the taxpayer". (Emphasis

added.) Absent an election under section 108(b)(5),7 the taxpayer must first

reduce "[a]ny net operating loss for the taxable year of the discharge, and any net

operating loss carryover to such taxable year." Sec. 108(b)(2)(A). Because MEG

Group did not make an election under section 108(b)(5), the first tax attributes

subject to reduction are MEG Group's current year and carryover NOLs.

Ordinarily, a corporation that is not a member of a consolidated group

computes its NOL on a stand-alone basis. Thus, where a corporation with

excluded COD income is not a member of a consolidated group, the NOL to be

reduced is clear. However, section 108 does not lend this degree of clarity to the

consolidated return scenario. Although we agree with the parties that section 108

appears to have been written in contemplation of stand-alone entities, nowhere

7A taxpayer can elect to reduce the basis of any depreciable property by the

amount of debt discharged before reducing the amounts of any other tax attributes.

Sec. 108(b)(5). MEG Group did not make such an election.

- 24 does the statute specifically define "the taxpayer" as either a member entity of a

consolidated group or the consolidated group as a whole. Furthermore, section

108 does not articulate whether the "tax attributes" subject to reduction are those

at the consolidated level or are those allocable to each member entity.

Although the legislative history of section 108(b) does not include any

specific indication of legislative intent concerning the application of section

108(b)(2)(A) to consolidated groups, it does provide insight into the general

purpose of section 108(b). The report of the Senate Committee on Finance states

that section 108 is

intended to carry out the Congressional intent of deferring, but

eventually collecting within a reasonable period, tax on ordinary

income realized from debt discharge. Thus in the case of a bankrupt

or insolvent debtor, the debt discharge amount is applied to reduce

the taxpayer's net operating losses and certain other tax attributes,

unless the taxpayer elects to apply the amount first to reduce basis in

depreciable assets. * * *

S. Rept. No. 96-1035, at 10-11 (1980), 1980-2 C.B. 620, 625. In a notice of

proposed rulemaking, the Department of the Treasury succinctly summarized this

legislative history as follows:

The legislative history of the Bankruptcy Tax Act states that

the exclusion of discharge of indebtedness (COD income) from gross

income under section 108 is intended to promote a debtor's fresh

start. S. Rep. No. 1035, 96th Cong., 2d Sess. 10 (1980), 1980-2 C.B.

620, 624; H.R. Rep. No. 833, 96th Cong.., 2d Sess. 11 (1980). The

- 25 exclusion provided by the statute generally operates, however, to

defer, rather than eliminate, income from discharge of indebtedness.

62 Fed. Reg. 955, 956 (Jan. 7, 1997).

To minimize the potential for permanent exclusion, a consolidated group

member that excludes COD income must reduce tax attributes which would

otherwise be available to offset its income. A consolidated group's CNOL is a

favorable tax attribute that consolidated group members share. In order for the

legislative objective of deferral to be accomplished while the group is intact,

attribute reduction must be applied to the CNOL as a whole and riot some lesser

portion deemed attributable to the debtor member. MEG Group's apportionment

of its CNOL to its consolidated group members for purposes of section 108(b)

attribute reduction produced a result that was inconsistent with the intent of

Congress to defer, rather than permanently eliminate, COD inconie. Thus, our

decision that United Dominion prohibits the separate-entity approach for

petitioner's short taxable year ending October 1, 1998, comports

ith Congress'

intention that COD income be deferred rather than eliminated whalesale.

- 26 b. Section 1017 Argument

Petitioner also argues that section 10178 is evidence that Congress intended

for consolidated groups to use the separate-entity approach under section

108(b)(2)(A). Section 1017(b)(3)(D) provides a special rule for reducing asset

basis under section 108 in the case of an affiliated group, providing a lookthrough

rule that allows for basis reduction when a member of a consolidated group holds

stock in a subsidiary. Petitioner argues that section 1017 demonstrates that

Congress was cognizant of the application of section 108 in the consolidated

group context and provided specific rules for consolidated groups where the

default separate-entity approach was not intended. Because there is no similar

Code provision detailing NOL reduction for consolidated groups under section

108(b)(2)(A), petitioner concludes that Congress intended for the separate-entity

approach to apply.

We disagree with petitioner's argument for the following reasons. First, as

previously discussed, the plain language of section 108 does not demonstrate that

Congress intended the application of the separate-entity approach as a default rule

for tax attribute reduction. Second, the fact that Congress enacted a special rule

for consolidated groups in section 1017(b)(3)(D) is not instructive as to what it

8Sec. 1017 is cross-referenced in sec. 108(b)(2)(E)(ii).

- 27 intended under section 108(b)(2)(A). In our view, a more plausible explanation

for the enactment of section 1017(b)(3)(D) was Congress' desire to provide

specific and immediate relief for consolidated groups in this narrow context.

Accordingly, we will refrain from inferring congressional intent based on the mere

absence in section 108(b)(2)(A) of a rule corollary to section 1017(b)(3)(D).

c. Consolidated Return Regulations

The law applicable to MEG Group's 1998 tax attribute reduction also

includes the consolidated return regulations in effect at that time. See sec. 1502

(providing that the Secretary shall prescribe regulations that are necessary to

determine consolidated groups' tax liabilities). Petitioner argues that these

consolidated return regulations "require the determination of an individual

member's share of the consolidated group's CNOL."

The Code applies to a consolidated group to the extent that the consolidated

return regulations do not.provide otherwise. Sec. 1.1502-80(a), Income Tax Regs.

A consolidated group member's gross income and deductions for a consolidated

return year are included in the computation of the entire group's consolidated

taxable income or CNOL. Secs. 1.1502-11(a), 1.1502-12, Income Tax Regs.; sec.

1.1502-21T(e), Temporary Income Tax Regs., 61 Fed. Reg. 33333 (June 27,

1996). Section 1.1502-21T(b)(2), Temporary Income Tax Regs., 61 Fed. Reg.

- 28 33328 (June 27, 1996),9 provides that, when a member of a consolidated group

leaves the group, a portion of the group's CNOL is allocated to the departing

member. In addition, section 1.1502-21T(b)(2), Temporary Income Tax Regs.,

supra, applies to apportion a consolidated group's CNOL to group members in

certain circumstances in order to carry back losses to pre-consolidated-return

years.

For COD income discharged after August 29, 2003, section 1.1502-28T,

Temporary Income Tax Regs., 68 Fed. Reg. 69025 (Dec. 11, 2003), prescribes a

hybrid approach that first reduces the tax attributes of the member entity, then

applies a lookthrough rule to reduce attributes of the member entity's subsidiaries,

and lastly reduces attributes of the consolidated group. With slight modifications,

this temporary regulation was adopted as final and effective for COD income

discharged after March 21, 2005. Sec. 1.1502-28(d), Income Tax Regs.'°

9Sec. 1.1502-21T, Temporary Income Tax Regs., 61 Fed. Reg. 33328 (June

27, 1996), was a temporary regulation in petitioner's short taxable year ending

October 1, 1998.

'°These post-United Dominion regulations appear to follow the invitation of

the Supreme Court:

Thus, it is true, as the Government has argued, that "[t]he

Internal Revenue Code vests ample authority in the Treasury to adopt

consolidated return regulations to effect a binding resolution of the

(continued...)

- 29 Petitioner's argument that the pre-2003 consolidated return regulations

allow for the separate-entity approach under section 108(b)(2)(A) is without merit.

The matter sub judice involves MEG Group's tax year ending October 1, 1998,

which is before the Commissioner's issuance of section 1.1502-28T, Temporary

Income Tax Regs., supra, or the adoption of section 1.1502-28, Income Tax Regs.

The pre-2003 consolidated return regulations did not specifically articulate how a

consolidated group should reduce its tax attributes under section 108(b).

However, as previously discussed, the Supreme Court in United Dominion Indus.,

Inc. v. Commissioner, 532 U.S. 822 (2001), found that the pre-2003 consolidated

return regulations did in fact prohibit the allocation of separate NOLs for

consolidated group members unless it was within the ambit of a specific regulatory

provision. For this reason, we are not persuaded by petitioner's argument to the

contrary.

'°(...continued)

question presented in this case." Brief for United States 1 -20. To

the extent that the Government has exercised that authorit , its

actions point to the single-entity approach as the better answer. To

the extent the Government disagrees, it may amend its reghlations to

provide for a different one.

United Dominion, 532 U.S. at 838.

-30d. Temple-Inland

In an attempt to bolster its position that United Dominion has no

significance with respect to attribute reduction under section 108, petitioner cites

Temple-Inland, Inc. v. United States, 68 Fed. Cl. 561 (2005). Temple-Inland

involved damages resulting from the Government's breach of a thrift acquisition

agreement under which a consolidated group acquired three failing thrifts. Id. at

562-563. Among the damages were the values of lost income tax deductions

caused by the Government's enactment of legislation that eliminated the tax

benefits associated with the thrift acquisition agreement. Id. at 563. After an

examination of the consolidated group's tax returns for the years at issue, the

taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) entered into a closing agreement

which included agreed-upon amounts for the taxpayer's bad debt deductions for

the taxable years 1991 and 1992. Id. at 563, 568.

Following the execution of the closing agreement, the Government

disagreed with the taxpayer's computation of the deductions. Id. at 564-565. The

Government argued that the group's consolidated tax attributes should have been

reduced under section 108(b). Id. at 569. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims held

for the taxpayer, ruling that the closing agreement between the IRS and the

taxpayer specifically provided that tax attribute reduction would be limited to the

- 31 tax attributes that were generated by the insolvent consolidated group members.

Id. at 569.

Although the Temple-Inland court made its determination on the basis of

the closing agreement, the court included a footnote stating: "United Dominion

dealt with the carryback period for product liability losses under section 172(b)

and has nothing to do with [s]ection 108." Id. at 569 n.5. Petitioner emphasizes

this footnote to support the proposition that United Dominion is "narrow in scope"

and "ha[s] no significance with respect to section 108."

Petitioner's reliance on a footnote in Temple-Inland is misplaced. TempleInland does not address the central issue of whether a CNOL can be apportioned

among consolidated group members absent a rule in the consolidated return

regulations allowing for such apportionment. The holding of Temple-Inland is

based on the finality of the closing agreement between the IRS and the taxpayer

and has nothing to do with the application of section 108(b)(2)(A) to a member of

a consolidated group. For this reason we are unpersuaded by petitioner's

argument that Temple-Inland limits the application of United Dominion to section

172.

- 32e. Gottesman

Petitioner alternatively contends that its application of the separate-entity

approach should prevail because the method was reasonable under existing law

when its consolidated tax return was filed for 1998. Petitioner cites Gottesman &

Co. v. Commissioner, 77 T.C. 1149 (1981), in support of the proposition that a

taxpayer's reasonable interpretation will be upheld where the Secretary has failed

to issue sufficient guidance under the consolidated return regulations. As

evidence that the separate-entity approach to attribute reduction was "reasonable

under the circumstances" before United Dominion--and thus, analogous to

Gottesman--petitioner cites multiple IRS private letter rulings.

In Gottesman the issue was whether the regulations promulgated by the

Secretary under section 1502 required accumulated taxable income for section 531

purposes to be calculated on a separate company basis or on a consolidated basis.

Id. at 1149-1150. Before 1966 affiliated corporations filing consolidated returns

were required by the regulations to compute their accumulated taxable income on

a combined basis for section 531 purposes. Id. at 1152-1153. The 1966

regulations were silent on the issue. IA at 1153-1155. The Secretary proposed

regulations requiring computation on a combined basis in 1968, withdrew the

-33 proposed regulations in 1971 without explanation, and did not issue new proposed

regulations until 1979. IA at 1155.

We addressed whether it was proper for the taxpayer to apply a separate

company method for the taxpayer's 1973-75 tax years. Id. at 1157-1158. In

holding for the taxpayer, we stated:

We cannot fault * * * [the taxpayer] for not knowing what the

law was in this area when the Commissioner, charged by Congress to

announce the law (sec. 1502), never decided what it was himself * * *

Thus, we find that the Commissioner's regulations regarding

the manner in which the accumulated earnings tax was to be imposed

on corporations making consolidated returns were ambiguous during

the years at issue. This ambiguity was of the Commissioner's

making, and, as such, must be held against him * * * [The taxpayer's]

interpretation of these regulations was reasonable under the

circumstances. * * *

I

In Gottesman we upheld the taxpayer's interpretation of the consolidated

return regulations as "reasonable under the circumstances" because of an

"ambiguity" in the existing law. The ambiguity in the applicable regulations had

not been resolved by the Supreme Court when Gottesman was decided. However,

the Supreme Court in United Dominion, 532 U.S. at 834, "expressly and

exclusively defin[ed] NOL as CNOL" in the consolidated return context. The fact

that United Dominion was decided in 2001 whereas the relevant year for purposes

- 34 of determining the application of section 108 and the meaning of NOL is 1998 is

of no consequence because Supreme Court opinions generally "must be given full

retroactive effect". See Harper v. Va. Dep't of Taxation, 509 U.S. 86, 97 (1993)

("When this Court applies a rule of federal law to the parties before it, that rule is

the controlling interpretation of federal law and must be given full retroactive

effect in all cases still open on direct review and as to all events, regardless of

whether such events predate or postdate our announcement of the rule.");

Hawknet, Ltd. v. Overseas Shipping Agencies, 590 F.3d 87, 91 (2d Cir. 2009)

(citing Harper, 509 U.S. at 97); Miller v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-55,

2001 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 65, at *14 ("When the U.S. Supreme Court announces

a rule of law and applies it to the litigants in the case announcing the rule, that rule

applies retroactively to all other pending cases unless barred by the statute of

limitations or res judicata.").

The issue in the current case, which was central to the opinion of the

Supreme Court in United Dominion, is identifying the appropriate NOL in the

consolidated return context. Although we acknowledge that petitioner's

application of the separate-entity approach in filing its 1998 consolidated tax

return was plausible at the time, it is contrary to the rule in the consolidated return

regulations as interpreted by the Supreme Court in United Dominion. Petitioner's

- 35 application of the separate-entity approach for purposes of defining NOL not only

conflicts with the binding precedent of United Dominion, but also is the approach

specifically rejected by the Supreme Court in that case. Because United Dominion

clarified that a separate NOL does not exist in the consolidated return regulations,

there is no remaining ambiguity as to this issue for petitioner's consolidated return

for the short taxable year ending October 1, 1998. Therefore Gottesman is

inapplicable to the current case.

Regarding petitioner's argument concerning the IRS' pre-United Dominion

determinations advocating the separate-entity approach, section 6110(k)(3)

explicitly provides that the IRS' written determinations are not precedential. We

also note that the private letter rulings and written determinations that petitioner

cited were issued before the Government's position in United Dominion was

rejected by the Supreme Court.

In conclusion, we find that respondent correctly applied section

108(b)(2)(A) in accordance with the Supreme Court's opinion in United

Dominion. Neither the Code nor the applicable consolidated return regulations

provide authority for an affiliated group to allocate and apportion CNOL to

consolidated group members for purposes of reducing tax attributes pursuant to

section 108(b)(2)(A). We hold that for the relevant consolidated return years in

- 36 issue the consolidated return regulations required that a consolidated group's

entire CNOL be treated as the NOL subject to reduction.

In reaching our decision, we have considered all arguments made by the

parties, and to the extent not mentioned or addressed, they are irrelevant or

without merit.

To reflect the foregoing,

An appropriate order and

decision will be entered granting

respondent's motion for summary

judgment and denying petitioner's

motion for summary judgment.