-32- earnings Carey said it would have been reasonable for petitioner to have ($2 million). Applying Carey's analysis to fiscal year 1993, reasonable compensation to Eberl could be as much as $1,080,000 (the difference between the amount petitioner paid Eberl ($2,080,000) and the amount of retained earnings Carey said would have been reasonable for petitioner to have ($1 million)). Other facts present here support a finding that compensation to Eberl in excess of those amounts would be unreasonable. Eberl set his own compensation, which was not the result of an arm's- length agreement; petitioner retained a minimal amount of earnings and distributed almost all of its profits to Eberl at the end of the year; and petitioner's other employees and independent adjusters did not receive yearend bonuses. These facts suggest that a substantial part of Eberl's compensation was a disguised dividend and not purely for services. We conclude that $2,340,000 for fiscal year 1992 and $1,080,000 for fiscal year 1993 constituted reasonable compensation to Eberl for those years. See Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. at 568 (the Court must decide the amount of reasonable compensation where the taxpayer proves the Commissioner's determination to be wrong).Page: Previous 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Next
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