20 was part of that payment. Broad v. Commissioner, supra, citing Hufnagle v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1986-119. We have repeatedly held that where a corporation pays the personal expenses of a shareholder, such payment will be treated as a constructive dividend to the shareholder to the extent of the corporation's earnings and profits, and to the extent that the corporation does not expect repayment. Falsetti v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 332 (1985); Henry Schwartz Corp. v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 728 (1973); Challenge Manufacturing Co. v. Commissioner, 37 T.C. 650 (1962); McWilliams v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-454; Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-410. Generally, the case law deals with deemed or constructive dividends. Respondent has not determined nor argued that Peters received dividend income, and, accordingly, we analyze only whether there has been a constructive distribution. Neither party has sought to characterize the payment of the legal fees as a dividend to Peters, nor are the facts necessary for such an analysis before us. In our case, legal fees were paid by PGWV, there was no expectation of repayment, and the payment directly benefited Peters. We therefore find that the payment of the legal fees constituted a distribution to Peters; we make no decision as to the characterization of the distribution, either as income to Peters, a loan to him, or a return of capital; it is not necessary to our conclusion that Peters received a constructive distribution of the funds which in turn were used to pay thePage: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Next
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