Boulez v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
P, an orchestra conductor, a nonresident alien, and a resident of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), contracted with C to make recordings of orchestral works, some of them in the USA. The contract provided that all recordings would be the property of C, which was to pay P based upon a percentage of its sales receipts, described as "royalties" in the contract.
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P, an orchestra conductor, a nonresident alien, and a resident of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), contracted with C to make recordings of orchestral works, some of them in the USA. The contract provided that all recordings would be the property of C, which was to pay P based upon a percentage of its sales receipts, described as "royalties" in the contract. Held, under the effective income tax treaty between the FRG and the USA, the payments to P were not "royalties" exempt from tax by the USA, but were compensation for personal services, and were taxable by the USA.
1Opinion of the Court
Korner, Judge:
Respondent determined a deficiency in petitioner’s individual income tax for the calendar year 1975 in the amount of $20,685.61. After concessions, the sole issue which we are called upon to decide is whether certain payments received by petitioner in the year 1975 constitute "royalties,” within the meaning of the applicable income tax treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, and are therefore exempt from tax by the United States, or whether said payments constitute compensation for personal services within the meaning of that treaty, and are…
2Cases cited18 opinions
- Welch v. HelveringSupreme Court of the United States · 1933
- Brattleboro Publishing Co. v. Winmill Publishing Corp.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1966
- Capitol Records, Inc. v. Mercury Records CorporationCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1955
- Stuart Scherr and Steven Goodman v. Universal Match Corporation and United States of AmericaCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1969
- Tobani v. Carl Fischer, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1938
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3Cited by6 opinions
- Goosen v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 2011
- Garcia v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 2013
- Boulez v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1984
- Juliard v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 1991
- Richard Bryan Jackson & Nora Irene Jackson v. CommissionerUnited States Tax Court · 2018
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