Thomas M. and Christine A. Fries - Page 9

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          answered by reference to all of the evidence, with the burden on            
          the taxpayer to establish that the advance was a loan.  Rule                
          142(a); Dixie Dairies Corp. v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 476, 493               
          (1980); Yale Avenue Corp. v. Commissioner, 58 T.C. 1062, 1073-              
          1074 (1972).  Advances to a closely held corporation by its                 
          shareholders are subject to particular scrutiny, since "The                 
          absence of arm's-length dealing provides the opportunity to                 
          contrive a fictional debt shielding the real essence of the                 
          transaction and obtaining benefits unintended by the statute."              
          Gilboy v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1978-114.  Thus, we look                 
          beyond the form of the transaction to determine its true                    
          substance.                                                                  
               Courts have identified and considered various factors in               
          deciding questions of debt versus equity.  See, e.g., In re                 
          Uneco, Inc., supra at 1207-1208 (10 factors); Fin Hay Realty Co.            
          v. United States, 398 F.2d 694, 696 (3d Cir. 1968) (16 factors).            
          The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, to which an appeal           
          of this case would lie, has adopted the objective factors set               
          forth in Estate of Mixon v. United States, 464 F.2d 394 (5th Cir.           
          1972).  See In re Lane, 742 F.2d 1311 (11th Cir. 1984);                     
          Stinnett's Pontiac Serv., Inc. v. Commissioner, 730 F.2d 634                
          (11th Cir. 1984), affg. T.C. Memo. 1982-314.                                
               In Estate of Mixon, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth                 
          Circuit delineated the following 13 elements which merit                    
          consideration in determining whether an advance constitutes debt            




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