- 146 - 1984, until June 30, 1986).108 Accordingly, we sustain respon- 108 Petitioner argues, in the alternative, with respect to BB Loan No. 1 (as well as BB Loan Nos. 2 and 3, the UB $570,000 renewed loan, and the UB $325,000 loan) that if the Court were to sustain respondent's determinations, the interest paid after July 18, 1984, by Radcliffe or BOT, as the case may be, would not be subject to withholding tax because either the interest is portfo- lio interest or the loan transaction could have been restructured to qualify the interest paid thereunder as portfolio interest. On the record before us, we find that petitioner has not demon- strated that the interest paid by Radcliffe in the BB Loan No. 1 transaction (or in any other Bank loan transaction at issue as to which he advances this alternative contention) qualifies as portfolio interest. For example, petitioner has not shown on the instant record that the interest at issue was not received by a 10-percent shareholder within the meaning of sec. 871(h)(3)(B). He therefore has not established that sec. 881(c)(3)(B) does not apply to the interest at issue. With respect to his contention that BB Loan No. 1 (or any of the other loan transactions as to which he advances this alternative contention) could have been restructured to qualify the interest thereon as portfolio inter- est, we note that a transaction is to be given effect in accord- ance with what actually occurred, and not with what might have occurred. See Commissioner v. National Alfalfa Dehydrating and Milling Co., 417 U.S. 134, 148 (1974). Petitioner advances an additional alternative argument relating solely to the BB Loan No. 1 transaction, which is apparently based upon the parties' erroneous stipulation that the $1,000,000 standby letter of credit was issued with respect to petitioner, rather than Radcliffe, see supra note 9. According to petitioner, if the Court were to sustain respondent's deter- mination, BB Loan No. 1 would, in substance, be from petitioner to Radcliffe and, in that event, any interest paid with respect to that loan would not be subject to withholding under sec. 1441(a) because petitioner was a U.S. citizen during the years at issue. We disagree. We have found that the $1,000,000 standby letter of credit was issued with respect to Radcliffe, and not petitioner. Moreover, on the record before us, we do not find petitioner's purported promise to indemnify Bangkok Bank HK branch for any losses it might have incurred with respect to its $1,000,000 standby letter of credit to have been intended by the persons involved in the BB Loan No. 1 transaction to be meaning- ful, at least to the extent of $450,000 of that loan. We there- fore do not find that that purported personal obligation of peti- tioner establishes that, in substance, a loan was made to Radcliffe by petitioner.Page: Previous 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 Next
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