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were accounted for separately on the company's books, but were
not placed in a separate bank account.
In Seven-Up Co., the Commissioner contended that the excess
of the amounts received by 7-Up over the advertising expenses
incurred and paid constituted taxable income. In holding that
the excess was not taxable, we stated:
The payments made by the participating bottlers were not for
services rendered or to be rendered by petitioner. Neither
were they part of the purchase price of the extract. They
did not, therefore, constitute earnings received by
petitioner under a claim of right and without restriction as
to disposition, which petitioner would have had to include
in its gross income under the rule laid down in North
American Oil Consolidated v. Burnet, 286 U.S. 417. While
petitioner had the right to receive the bottlers'
contributions under its agreements with them, all the facts
and circumstances surrounding the transaction clearly
indicate that it was the intention of all of the parties
concerned that these contributions were to be used to
acquire national advertising for the 7-Up bottled beverage
and for that purpose only, and that petitioner was to be a
conduit for passing on the funds contributed to the
advertising agency which was to arrange for and supply the
national advertising. * * * Although the funds were not all
expended in the year received, for reasons set forth in our
findings, petitioner did expend them for national
advertising, did not use them for general corporate
purposes, treated the amounts on hand in the fund on its
books as a liability to the bottlers, and considered itself,
as evidenced by its letter of May 2, 1944, to one of the
participating bottlers, merely as a trustee, handling the
bottlers' money. [Seven-Up Co. v. Commissioner, 14 T.C. at
977-978.]
In Ford Dealers Advertising Fund, Inc. v. Commissioner,
supra, the taxpayer received funds from franchised Ford Dealers
in the Jacksonville, Florida, area to be expended for advertising
and promotion. The advertising fund also operated a "car-locator
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