Strassburger v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

SWAN, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents a case where the owner of all the common stock of a corporation, which had only common stock outstanding, received a stock dividend of 50 shares (par $100 per share) of nonvoting, cumulative 7% preferred stock declared out of surplus accumulated subsequent to February 28, 1913. Appropriate entries were made in the corporation’s books on account of the dividend, the surplus being decreased by $5,000 and the capital stock increased by the same amount. The question is whether such stock dividend was taxable income to the sole stockholder upon receipt…