James and Julie Kress (the “Taxpayers”) filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin [Case 1:15-cv-01067-WCG] on September 2, 2015. They sought a refund of federal gift taxes and interest they claim were erroneously assessed by the IRS on gifts made in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
The Facts
The Taxpayers are shareholders of an S corporation. The shares are owned by members of the Taxpayers’ family and certain employees and directors. The company’s bylaws and shareholders’ agreement restrict transfer of shares by family members to other family members or to trusts, as defined in the bylaws. An annual valuation opines the value of minority blocks of the shares.
The bylaws and shareholders’ agreement also stipulate transfers of stock by non-family shareholders are subject to a right of first refusal by the company. The bylaws and stockholder agreements specify these transfers must be at 120% of the company’s book value at the time of transfer.
In the years stated above, minority shares were gifted to members of the Taxpayers’ family at Fair Market Value as determined by an independent valuation. These valuations took into account the restrictions on transfers of shares held by family members.
The IRS challenged these amounts. It determined the gifts should have been valued at 120% of book value, the value which the company’s shareholders agreement and by-laws provide for transfers by non-family members.
The Issue
Fair Market Value is defined as the value a property would receive if it were sold in the open market. Among other factors, it assumes the buyer and seller are reasonably knowledgeable about the property in question, they are acting in their own best interest and neither party is under any undue influence.
In this Case, we see two sets of values. One is the values determined by the independent valuations, the other is 120% of book value. The Taxpayers assert the transfer price calculation for non-family members is to simplify transfers. (Shares transferred by non-family members typically had different, and much higher, bases than those transferred between family members).
The Taxpayers claim the restrictions on family transfers are a “bona fide business arrangement.” The restrictions, they claim, were not designed to attain discounted values.
So who is right?
The Taxpayers believe an independent valuation of their company should address the stock restrictions unique to family-owned shares. Because of these restrictions, the value of the shares is heavily discounted. The family contends the restrictions are intended to centralize ownership of the company in the family, not to lower the fair market value of transferred shares.
The IRS has been and is continuing to scrutinize transfers of stock among family members, especially those with high discounts. A perceived goal of the IRS is to prevent businesses from reducing the value of their shares through the imposition of severe restrictions limiting transferability of shares by family members. The IRS claims its valuation at 120% of book value better reflects what an external party would expect to pay for shares. It should be noted employees and directors are not third parties.
This case remains pending.