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Contents ◀ Individuals vii
Obtaining Replacement Property 12-14 Intangible Drilling Costs and Depletion 13-21
Time Requirements for Replacement 12-15 Gain on Sale of Depreciable Property Between Related
Sale of Principal Residence 12-16 Parties 13-22
Principal Residence Defined 12-17 Tax Planning Considerations 13-23
Sale of More than One Principal Residence Within a Avoiding the Recapture Provisions 13-23
Two-Year Period 12-18 Compliance and Procedural Considerations 13-24
Nonqualified Use After 2008 12-20 Reporting Sec. 1231 Gains and Losses on Form 4797 13-24
Involuntary Conversion of a Principal Residence 12-21 Reporting Gains Recaptured as Ordinary Income on
Tax Planning Considerations 12-21 Form 4797 13-24
Avoiding the Like-Kind Exchange Provisions 12-21 Reporting Casualty or Theft Gain or Loss on
Sale of a Principal Residence 12-22 Form 4684 13-24
Compliance and Procedural Considerations 12-23 Problem Materials 13-28
Reporting of Involuntary Conversions 12-23 Discussion Questions 13-28
Reporting of Sale or Exchange of a Principal Issue Identification Questions 13-29
Residence 12-24 Problems 13-30
Problem Materials 12-24 Comprehensive Problem 13-35
Discussion Questions 12-24 Tax Strategy Problems 13-35
Issue Identification Questions 12-25 Tax Form/Return Preparation Problems 13-36
Problems 12-26 Case Study Problems 13-36
Comprehensive Problem 12-30 Tax Research Problem 13-37
Tax Strategy Problem 12-30
Tax Form/Return Preparation Problems 12-31
Case Study Problem 12-32
CHAPTER 14
c sPECial TaX COMPuTaTiOn METHOds, TaX CREdiTs,
Tax Research Problems 12-32
and PaYMEnT OF TaX 14-1
CHAPTER 13 Alternative Minimum Tax 14-2
c PROPERTY TRansaCTiOns: sECTiOn 1231 AMT Computation 14-3
and RECaPTuRE 13-1 AMT Tax Rates and Brackets 14-3
History of Sec. 1231 13-2 AMT Exemption Amount 14-3
Overview of Basic Tax Treatment for Sec. 1231 13-3 AMT Tax Preference Items 14-4
Net Gains 13-3 AMT Adjustments 14-4
Net Losses 13-3 AMT Credits 14-6
Tax Rate for Net Sec. 1231 Gain 13-4 Summary Illustration of the AMT Computation 14-7
Section 1231 Property 13-5 Self-Employment Tax 14-8
Section 1231 Property Defined 13-5 What Constitutes Self-Employment Income 14-9
Real or Depreciable Property Used in Trade or Personal and Business Tax Credits 14-10
Business 13-5 Use and Importance of Tax Credits 14-10
Involuntary Conversions 13-6 Value of a Credit Versus a Deduction 14-10
Condemnations 13-6
Nonrefundable Personal Tax Credits 14-11
Other Involuntary Conversions 13-7
Foreign Tax Credit 14-17
Procedure for Sec. 1231 Treatment 13-7 Business Related Tax Credits 14-19
Recapture Provisions of Sec. 1245 13-8 Refundable Personal Credits 14-23
Purpose of Sec. 1245 13-9 Provisions Related to Health Insurance 14-24
Recapture Provisions of Sec. 1250 13-10 Health Insurance Premium Assistance Credit (Also
Purpose of Sec. 1250 13-11 Known as Premium Tax Credit) 14-24
Section 1250 Property Defined 13-11 Shared Responsibility Payment 14-26
Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain 13-12
Payment of Taxes 14-27
Taxation of Gains on Sale or Exchange of Depreciable
Withholding of Taxes 14-27
Real Property 13-12
Estimated Tax Payments 14-29
Low-Income Housing 13-15
Additional Recapture for Corporations 13-16 Tax Planning Considerations 14-30
Summary of Secs. 1231, 1245, and 1250 Gains 13-17 Avoiding the Alternative Minimum Tax 14-30
Avoiding the Underpayment Penalty for Estimated
Recapture Provisions—Other Applications 13-18
Tax 14-31
Gifts of Property Subject to Recapture 13-18
Cash-Flow Considerations 14-32
Transfer of Property Subject to Recapture at Death 13-18
Charitable Contributions 13-18 Use of General Business Tax Credits 14-32
Like-Kind Exchanges 13-19 Foreign Tax Credits and the Foreign Earned Income
Involuntary Conversions 13-19 Exclusion 14-32
Installment Sales 13-19 Compliance and Procedural Considerations 14-33
Section 179 Expensing Election 13-20 Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Filing
Conservation and Land Clearing Expenditures 13-20 Procedures 14-33
Contents ◀ Individuals ix
Withholdings and Estimated Tax Payments 14-33 Specific Rules Applicable to Corporations 16-4
General Business Tax Credits 14-33 Capital Gains and Losses 16-4
Nonrefundable Personal Tax Credits 14-33 Dividends-Received Deduction 16-5
Problem Materials 14-34 Net Operating Losses 16-6
Discussion Questions 14-34 Charitable Contributions 16-7
Issue Identification Questions 14-36 Compensation Deduction Limitation for Publicly Held
Problems 14-37 Corporations 16-8
U.S. Production Activities Deduction 16-8
Comprehensive Problem 14-41
Tax Strategy Problem 14-42 Computation of Tax 16-10
Tax Form/Return Preparation Problems 14-43 Computation of Taxable Income 16-10
Case Study Problems 14-44 Computation of Regular Tax 16-10
Tax Research Problem 14-44 Computation of the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax
(AMT) 16-12
Penalty Taxes 16-14
Computation of Tax for Controlled Groups 16-17
CHAPTER 15 Consolidated Returns 16-19
c TaX REsEaRCH 15-1 Transfers of Property to Controlled
Overview of Tax Research 15-2 Corporations 16-20
Steps in the Tax Research Process 15-3 Section 351 Nonrecognition Requirements 16-20
Basis Considerations 16-21
Importance of the Facts to the Tax Treatment of Liabilities 16-22
Consequences 15-5 Corporate Capital Structure 16-24
Creating a Factual Situation Favorable to the
Earnings and Profits 16-25
Taxpayer 15-6
Calculation of Earnings and Profits 16-25
The Sources of Tax Law 15-7 Current Versus Accumulated E&P 16-25
The Legislative Process 15-7
Noncash Distributions 16-27
The Internal Revenue Code 15-8
Tax Consequences to the Shareholders 16-27
Treasury Regulations 15-9
Tax Consequences to the Distributing
Administrative Pronouncements 15-11
Corporation 16-27
Judicial Decisions 15-14
Stock Redemptions 16-28
Tax Treaties 15-24 Determining Whether a Redemption Is a Dividend or
Tax Periodicals 15-24 Capital Gain 16-29
Tax Services 15-25 Corporate Distributions in Complete
The Internet as a Research Tool 15-26 Liquidation 16-31
Keyword Searches 15-27 Tax Consequences to the Liquidating
Search by Citation 15-28 Corporation 16-31
Noncommercial Internet Services 15-28 Tax Consequences to the Shareholders 16-32
Citators 15-28 Section 332: Liquidation of a Subsidiary
Using the Citator 15-30 Corporation 16-32
Professional Guidelines for Tax Services 15-30 Tax Planning Considerations 16-33
Capital Structure and Section 1244 16-33
Treasury Department Circular 230 15-30
Dividend Policy 16-34
AICPA’s Statements on Tax Standards 15-31
Use of Losses 16-34
Sample Work Papers and Client Letter 15-34 Charitable Contributions 16-34
Problem Materials 15-34 Dividends-Received Deduction 16-34
Discussion Questions 15-34 Reduced Taxes on Taxpayer Stock Sales 16-35
Problems 15-35 Compliance and Procedural Considerations 16-35
Comprehensive Problem 15-38 Filling Requirements 16-35
Tax Strategy Problem 15-38 Schedule M-1 and M-2 Reconciliations 16-36
Case Study Problem 15-39 Schedule M-3 Reconciliation 16-37
Tax Research Problems 15-39 Maintenance of E&P Records 16-37
Problem Materials 16-37
Discussion Questions 16-37
Issue Identification Questions 16-43
CHAPTER 16 Problems 16-43
c CORPORaTiOns 16-1 Tax Strategy Problems 16-49
Definition of a Corporation 16-2 Tax Form/Return Preparation Problems 16-50
Similarities and Differences Between the Taxation of Case Study Problems 16-51
Corporations and Individuals 16-3 Tax Research Problems 16-52
x Individuals ▶ Contents
Thomas R. Pope is the Ernst & Young Professor of Accounting at the University of
Kentucky. He received a B.S. from the University of Louisville and an M.S. and D.B.A. in
business administration from the University of Kentucky. He teaches international taxa-
tion, partnership and S corporation taxation, tax research and policy, and introductory
taxation and has won outstanding teaching awards at the University, College, and School
of Accountancy levels. He has published articles in The Accounting Review, the Tax
Adviser, Taxes, Tax Notes, and a number of other journals. Professor Pope’s extensive
professional experience includes eight years with Big Four accounting firms. Five of those
years were with Ernst & Whinney (now part of Ernst & Young), including two years with
their National Tax Department in Washington, D.C. He subsequently held the position of
THOMAS R. POPE Senior Manager in charge of the Tax Department in Lexington, Kentucky. Professor Pope
also has been a leader and speaker at professional tax conferences all over the United States
and is active as a tax consultant.
Kenneth E. Anderson is the Pugh CPAs Professor of Accounting at the University of Tennessee.
He earned a B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and subsequently attained
the level of tax manager with Arthur Young (now part of Ernst & Young). He then earned
a Ph.D. from Indiana University. He teaches corporate taxation, partnership taxation,
and tax strategy. Professor Anderson also is the Director of the Master of Accountancy
Program. He has published articles in The Accounting Review, The Journal of the American
Taxation Association, Advances in Taxation, the Journal of Accountancy, the Journal of
Financial Service Professionals, and a number of other journals.
KENNETH E. ANDERSON
xi
aBOuT THE auTHORs
D. Dale Bandy is the Professor Emeritus in the School of Accounting at the University of
Central Florida. He received a B.S. from the University of Tulsa, an M.B.A. from the
University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He helped to
establish the Master of Science in Taxation programs at the University of Central Florida
and California State University, Fullerton, where he previously taught. In 1985, he was
selected by the California Society of Certified Public Accountants as the Accounting
Educator of the year. Professor Bandy has published 8 books and more than 30 articles in
accounting and taxation. His articles have appeared in the Journal of Taxation, the
Journal of Accountancy, Advances in Taxation, the Tax Adviser, The CPA Journal,
Management Accounting, and a number of other journals.
N. Allen Ford is the Larry D. Homer/KPMG Peat Marwick Distinguished Teaching Professor
of Professional Accounting at the University of Kansas. He received an undergraduate de-
gree from Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, and both the M.B.A. and Ph.D. in
Business from the University of Arkansas. He has published over 40 articles related to tax-
ation, financial accounting, and accounting education in journals such as The Accounting
Review, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, and The Journal of Taxation.
He served as president of the American Taxation Association in 1979–80. Professor Ford
has received numerous teaching awards, at the college and university levels. In 1993, he
received the Byron T. Shutz Award for Distinguished Teaching in Economics and Business.
In 1996 he received the Ray M. Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award, which is
jointly sponsored by the American Taxation Association and Ernst & Young, and in 1998
he received the Kansas Society of CPAs Outstanding Education Award.
Robert L. Gardner is the Robert J. Smith Professor of Accounting in the School of Accountancy
at Brigham Young University (BYU). He received a B.S. and M.B.A. from the University of
Utah and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He has authored or coauthored two
books and over 25 articles in journals such as The Tax Adviser, Journal of Corporate Taxa-
tion, Journal of Real Estate Taxation, Journal of Accounting Education, Journal of Taxation
of S Corporations, and the International Tax Journal. Professor Gardner has received several
teaching awards. In 2001, he received the Outstanding Faculty Award in the Marriott School
of Management at BYU. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the American Taxation
Association and served as President of the ATA in 1999–2000.
xii
About the Authors ◀ Individuals xiii
LeAnn Luna is a Professor of Accounting at the University of Tennessee. She is a CPA and
holds an undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University, an M.T. from the
University of Denver College of Law, and a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. She
has taught introductory taxation, corporate and partnership taxation, and tax research.
Professor Luna also holds a joint appointment with the Center for Business and Economic
Research at the University of Tennessee, where she interacts frequently with state policy-
makers on a variety of policy-related issues. She has published articles in the Journal of
Accounting and Economics, National Tax Journal, The Journal of the American Taxation
Association, and State Tax Notes.
Jared Moore is the Mary Ellen Phillips Associate Professor of Accounting at Oregon State
University (OSU). He earned his undergraduate, Master of Taxation, and Ph.D. degrees at
Arizona State University. He is a CPA (AZ-inactive) and worked in both public and pri-
vate accounting before pursuing his doctoral degree. Professor Moore has received several
teaching awards, including the Byron L. Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching at OSU,
and has taught individual and business taxation, introductory and intermediate financial
accounting, and doctoral-level financial accounting research. His research interests include
both tax and financial accounting, and he has published in journals including the Journal
of the American Taxation Association and the National Tax Journal.
• The Individuals volume covers all entities, although the treatment is often briefer than in the Corporations and Com-
prehensive volumes. The Individuals volume, therefore, is appropriate for colleges and universities that require only one
semester of taxation as well as those that require more than one semester of taxation. Further, this volume adapts the
suggestions of the Model Tax Curriculum as promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
• The Corporations, Partnerships, Estates & Trusts and Comprehensive volumes contain three comprehensive tax re-
turn problems whose data change with each edition, thereby keeping the problems fresh. Problem C:3-66 contains the
comprehensive corporate tax return, Problem C:9-58 contains the comprehensive partnership tax return, and Problem
C:11-64 contains the comprehensive S corporation tax return, which is based on the same facts as Problem C:9-58 so
that students can compare the returns for these two entities.
• The Corporations, Partnerships, Estates & Trusts and Comprehensive volumes contain sections called Financial
Statement Implications, which discuss the implications of Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740. The main
discussion of accounting for income taxes appears in Chapter C:3. The financial statement implications of other
transactions appear in Chapters C:5, C:7, C:8, and C:16 (Corporations volume only).
INDIVIDUALS
• Complete updating of significant court cases and IRS rulings and procedures during 2016 and early 2017.
• Complete updating for the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 and the 2016 Consolidated Appropria-
tions Act.
• Discussion of the expiration of certain deductions and credits in 2017.
• All tax rate schedules have been updated to reflect the rates and inflation adjustments for 2017.
• Whenever new updates become available, they will be accessible via MyAccountingLab.
C O R P O R AT I O N S
• The comprehensive corporate tax return, Problem C:3-66, has all new numbers for the 2016 forms.
• The comprehensive partnership tax return, Problem C:9-58, has all new numbers for the 2016 forms.
• The comprehensive S corporation tax return, Problem C:11-64, has all new numbers for the 2016 forms.
• Changes affecting 2017 tax law have been incorporated into the text where appropriate, including the tax legislation
listed in the second Individuals bullet item above.
• All tax rate schedules have been updated to reflect the rates and inflation adjustments for 2017.
• Whenever new updates become available, they will be accessible via MyAccountingLab.
MyAccountingLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with Pearson’s Federal
Taxation 2018 to engage students and improve results. MyAccountingLab’s homework and practice questions are cor-
related to the textbook, they regenerate algorithmically to give students unlimited opportunity for practice and mastery,
xiv
Preface ◀ Individuals xv
and they offer helpful feedback when students enter incorrect answers. Combining resources that illuminate content with
accessible self-assessment, MyAccountingLab with eText provides students with a complete digital learning experience—all
in one place. To register, go to http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com.
For instructors
MyAccountingLab provides instructors with a rich and flexible set of course materials, along with course-management
tools that make it easy to deliver all or a portion of your course online.
• Powerful Homework and Test Manager Create, import, and manage online homework and media assignments, quiz-
zes, and tests. Create assignments from online questions directly correlated to this and other textbooks. Homework ques-
tions include “Help Me Solve This” guided solutions to help students understand and master concepts. You can choose
from a wide range of assignment options, including time limits and maximum number of attempts allowed. In addition,
you can create your own questions—or copy and edit ours—to customize your students’ learning path.
• Comprehensive Gradebook Tracking MyAccountingLab’s online gradebook automatically tracks your students’
results on tests, homework, and tutorials and gives you control over managing results and calculating grades. All
MyAccountingLab grades can be exported to a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft® Excel. The MyAccount-
ingLab Gradebook provides a number of student data views and gives you the flexibility to weight assignments, select
which attempts to include when calculating scores, and omit or delete results for individual assignments.
• department-Wide solutions Get help managing multiple sections and working with Teaching Assistants using
MyAccountingLab Coordinator Courses. After your MyAccountingLab course is set up, it can be copied to create
sections or “member courses.” Changes to the Coordinator Course flow down to all members, so changes only need
to be made once.
We will add the most current tax information to MyAccountingLab as it becomes available.
For students
MyAccountingLab provides students with a personalized interactive learning environment, where they can learn at their
own pace and measure their progress.
• interactive Tutorial Exercises MyAccountingLab’s homework and practice questions are correlated to the text-
book, and “similar to” versions regenerate algorithmically to give students unlimited opportunity for practice and
mastery. Questions offer helpful feedback when students enter incorrect answers, and they include “Help Me Solve
This” guided solutions as well as other learning aids for extra help when students need it.
• study Plan The Study Plan acts as a tutor, providing personalized recommendations for each of your students based
on his or her ability to master the learning objectives in your course. This allows students to focus their study time by
pinpointing the precise areas they need to review, and allowing them to use customized practice and learning aids—
such as videos, eText, tutorials, and more—to get them back on track. Using the report available in the Gradebook,
you can then tailor course lectures to prioritize the content where students need the most support—offering you better
insight into classroom and individual performance.
• dynamic study Modules Dynamic Study Modules help students study effectively on their own by continuously assessing
their activity and performance in real time. Here’s how it works: students complete a set of questions with a unique answer
format that also asks them to indicate their confidence level. Questions repeat until the student can answer them all correctly
and confidently. Once completed, Dynamic Study Modules explain the concept using materials from the text. These are
available as graded assignments prior to class, and accessible on smartphones, tablets, and computers. NEW! Instructors can
now remove questions from Dynamic Study Modules to better fit their course. Available for select titles.
Real-World Example
These comments relate the text material to events, cases, and statistics occurring in the tax and business environment. The
statistical data presented in some of these comments are taken from the IRS’s Statistics of Income at www.irs.gov.
Book-to-Tax Accounting Comparison
These comments compare the tax discussion in the text to the accounting and/or financial statement treatment of this
material. Also, the last section of Chapter C:3 discusses the financial statement implications of federal income taxes.
xvi Individuals ▶ Preface
Program Components
Materials for the instructor may be accessed at the Instructor’s Resource Center (IRC) online, located at
www.pearsonhighered.com/pearsontax or within the Instructor Resource section of MyAccountingLab. You may
contact your Pearson representative for assistance with the registration process.
• TaxAct 2016 Software: Available via online purchase with Individuals, Corporations, and Comprehensive Texts. This
user-friendly tax preparation program includes more than 80 tax forms, schedules, and worksheets. TaxAct calculates
returns and alerts the user to possible errors or entries. Consists of Forms 990, 1040, 1041, 1065, 1120, and 1120S.
• Instructor’s Resource Manual: Contains sample syllabi, instructor outlines, and information regarding problem areas
for students. It also contains solutions to the tax form/tax return preparation problems.
• Solutions Manual: Contains solutions to discussion questions, problems, and comprehensive and tax strategy prob-
lems. It also contains all solutions to the case study problems, research problems, and “What Would You Do in This
Situation?” boxes.
• Test Bank: Offers a wealth of true/false, multiple-choice, and calculative problems. A computerized program is available
to adopters.
• PowerPoint Slides: Consists of chapter outlines, featuring images, examples, and problems throughout, to aid in class
lectures.
• Image Library: Figures, tables, and tax forms featured in the book are provided as individual files for the convenience
of instructors and students.
• Multi-State Tax Chapter: An entire chapter, complete with problems (and solutions) dedicated to multi-state tax practices.
acknowledgments
Our policy is to provide annual editions and to prepare timely updated supplements when major tax revisions occur. We
are most appreciative of the suggestions made by outside reviewers because these extensive review procedures have been
valuable to the authors and editors during the revision process.
We also are grateful to the various graduate assistants, doctoral students, and colleagues who have reviewed the text
and supplementary materials and checked solutions to maintain a high level of technical accuracy. In particular, we would
like to acknowledge the following colleagues who assisted in the preparation of supplemental materials for this text:
Ann Burstein Cohen SUNY at Buffalo
Craig J. Langstraat/Joshua G. Coyne University of Memphis
Kate Demarest Carroll Community College
Allison McLeod University of North Texas
Mitchell Franklin LeMoyne College
Anthony Masino East Tennessee State University
In addition, we want to thank Myron S. Scholes, Mark A. Wolfson, Merle M. Erickson, M. L. Hanlon, Edward L.
Maydew, and Terry J. Shevlin for allowing us to use the model discussed in their text, Taxes and Business Strategy: A
Planning Approach, as the basis for material in Chapter I:18.
Please send any comments to Kenneth E. Anderson or Timothy J. Rupert.
CHAPTER
1
An IntroductIon
to tAxAtIon
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
▶ Discuss
4 the criteria for a “good” tax structure, the objectives of the
federal income tax law, and recent tax reform proposals
▶ Identify
6 the various tax law sources and understand their implications
for tax practice
▶ Describe the legislative process for the enactment of the tax law
7
CHAPTER OUTLINE Federal income taxes have a significant effect on business, investor, and personal decisions
History of Taxation in the United in the United States. Because tax rates can be as high as 35% on corporations and over
States...1-2 40% on individuals, virtually every transaction is impacted by income taxes. The follow-
Types of Tax Rate Structures...1-4 ing examples illustrate the impact of the tax law on various decisions in our society:
Other Types of Taxes...1-7
Criteria for a Tax Structure...1-12 c Because of the deductibility of home mortgage interest and real estate taxes, an indi-
Entities in the Federal Income Tax vidual may decide to purchase a home rather than to continue to rent an apartment.
System...1-16
c An investor may decide to delay selling some stock because of the significant taxes that
Tax Law Sources...1-24
Enactment of a Tax Law...1-24
may result from the sale.
Administration of the Tax Law c A corporation may get a larger tax deduction if it leases property rather than purchas-
and Tax Practice Issues...1-26 ing the property.
Components of a Tax
Practice...1-29 The purpose of this text is to provide an introduction to the study of federal income
Computer Applications in Tax taxation. However, before discussing the specifics of the U.S. federal income tax law, it is
Practice...1-31
helpful to have a broad conceptual understanding of the taxation process. This chapter
provides an overview of the following topics:
c Historical developments of the federal tax system
Key Point c Types of taxes levied and structural considerations
In many situations, the use of c Objectives of the tax law, including a discussion of recent tax reform proposals
the tax laws to influence human
behavior is deliberate. As will be c Taxpaying entities in the federal income tax system
seen later in this chapter, tax laws
are often used to achieve social c Tax law sources and the legislative process
and economic objectives.
c Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collection, examination, and appeals processes
c The nature of tax practice, including computer applications and tax research
HIstory of tAxAtIon
In tHe unIted stAtes
OBJECTIVE 1
E A r ly P E r i o d s
Discuss the history of The federal income tax is the dominant form of taxation in the United States. In addition,
taxation in the United most states and some cities and counties also impose an income tax. Both corporations
States and individuals are subject to such taxes.
Prior to 1913 (the date of enactment of the modern-day federal income tax), the federal
government relied predominantly on customs duties and excise taxes to finance its opera-
tions. The first federal income tax on individuals was enacted in 1861 to finance the Civil
HiStoRiCAL note
War but was repealed after the war. The federal income tax was reinstated in 1894, how-
The reinstatement of the income
ever, that tax was challenged in the courts because the U.S. Constitution required that an
tax in 1894 was the subject of income tax be apportioned among the states in proportion to their populations. This type
heated political controversy. In of tax system, which would be both impractical and difficult to administer, would mean
general, the representatives in
Congress from the agricultural that different tax rates would apply to individual taxpayers depending on their states of
South and West favored the residence.
income tax in lieu of customs
duties. Representatives from the
In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that the tax was in violation of the U.S.
industrial eastern states were Constitution.1 Therefore, it was necessary to amend the U.S. Constitution to permit the
against the income tax and passage of a federal income tax law. This was accomplished by the Sixteenth Amendment,
favored protective tariff
legislation. which was ratified in 1913. The Sixteenth Amendment, while being an extraordinarily
important amendment, consists of one sentence.
1Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co., 3 AFTR 2602 (USSC, 1895). Note, was held to be constitutional because it was treated as an excise tax. See
however, that a federal income tax on corporations that was enacted in 1909 Flint v. Stone Tracy Co., 3 AFTR 2834 (USSC, 1911).
An Introduction to Taxation ◀ Individuals 1-3
Source: Council of Economic Advisers, Economic Indicators (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1967,
1977, 2016).
2
Richard Goode, The Individual Income Tax (Washington, DC: The
Brookings Institution, 1964), pp. 2–4.
1-4 Individuals ▶ Chapter 1
eXAmPLe i:1-1 c Alice, who is single, has $30,000 taxable income in 2017. Her federal income taxes for the year
are $4,034, computed as follows: the first $9,325 of taxable income is taxed at 10% and the
remaining $20,675 at 15%. (For tax rates, see the inside front cover.)
LeGiSLAtiVe Allen, who also is single, has taxable income of $60,000. A 10% rate applies to the first
BACKGRoUnd $9,325 of taxable income, 15% on the next $28,625, and a 25% rate applies to the taxable
Beginning with tax year 2013, income over $37,950. Thus, Allen’s total tax is $10,739 [(0.10 × $9,325) + (0.15 × $28,625) +
the top rate for high-income indi- (0.25 × $22,050)].
vidual taxpayers was increased to
39.6% from 35%. If Allen’s taxable income is $120,000, a 28% rate applies to $28,100 of his taxable income
($120,000 − $91,900) because the 28% rate applies to taxable income above $91,900 for
a single individual and his total tax for the year is $26,582. Thus, the tax rates are progressive
because the rate of tax increases as a taxpayer’s taxable income increases. b
Notice in Example I:1-1 that taxable income has doubled in size in the three cases, but
the income taxes have more than doubled (i.e., $4,034 to $10,739 to $26,582). This
demonstrates how a progressive rate structure operates.
eXAmPLe i:1-2 c Assume the same facts as in Example I:1-1 except that Alice has taxable income of $200,000. Of
Alice’s taxable income, $8,350 ($200,000 − $191,650) is subject to the 33% rate. Alternatively, if
Allen has taxable income of $450,000, $33,300 ($450,000 − $416,700) is subject to the top mar-
ginal rate of 39.6%. b
A proportional tax rate, sometimes called a flat tax, is one where the rate of tax is the
same for all taxpayers, regardless of the level of their tax base. This type of tax rate is
generally used for real estate taxes, state and local sales taxes, personal property taxes,
customs duties, and excise taxes. A flat tax has been the subject of considerable discus-
sion over the past twenty years and promises to be a controversial topic as the debate on
federal income tax reform continues into the future.
eXAmPLe i:1-3 c Assume the same facts as in Example I:1-1, except that a 17% tax rate applies to all amounts
of taxable income. Based on the assumed flat tax rate structure, Alice’s federal income tax is
$5,100 on $30,000 of taxable income; Allen’s tax is $10,200 on $60,000 of taxable income and
$20,400 on $120,000 of taxable income. The tax rate is proportional because the 17% rate ap-
plies to both taxpayers without regard to their income level. As you can see, a proportional tax
rate results in substantially lower taxes for higher income taxpayers.4 b
3 See the inside front cover for the 2017 tax rates and Chapter I:2 for a discus- 4 This example assumes the same tax base (taxable income) for the flat tax as
sion of the computation procedures. 2016 rate schedules and tax tables are with the current federal tax. Most flat tax proposals allow only a few deduc-
located immediately before Appendix A. tions and, therefore, would generate higher taxes than in the example.
An Introduction to Taxation ◀ Individuals 1-5
SeLF-StUdy QUeStion A regressive tax rate decreases with an increase in the tax base (e.g., income). Regressive
Assume a tax system with a tax of taxes, while not consistent with the fairness of the income tax,5 are found in the United States.
$1,000 on taxable income of
$10,000 and a $1,500 tax on tax- The Social Security (FICA) tax is regressive because a fixed rate of tax of 6.20% for OASDI
able income of $20,000. Is the tax for both the employer and employee is levied up to a ceiling amount of $127,200 for 2017. So,
rate system progressive, propor- for example, assume Taxpayer A has income subject to Social Security of $80,000 and
tional, or regressive?
Taxpayer B income of $400,000. Taxpayer A’s OASDI would be $4,960 ($80,000 × 0.062),
Taxpayer B’s OASDI would be $7,886 ($127,200 × 0.062). Taxpayer A’s average rate of
AnSWeR OASDI tax is 6.2% while Taxpayer B’s average rate of tax is 1.97% ($7,886/$400,000).
This tax system is regressive. Even The sales tax, which is levied by many states, is also regressive when measured
though the amount of tax has against the income base.
increased, the rate of taxation has
decreased from 10% on the first
$10,000 of taxable income to 5% t h E s t r u c t u r E o F c o r P o r At E tA x r At E s
on the second $10,000 of taxable Corporations are separate entities and are subject to income tax. The federal corporate
income.
income tax reflects a stair-step pattern of progression that tends to benefit small corpora-
tions. The corporate rates, which have not changed for several years, are as follows:6
Taxable Income7 Tax
First $50,000 15% of taxable income
Over $50,000 but not over $75,000 $7,500 + 25% of taxable income over
$50,000
Over $75,000 but not over $100,000 $13,750 + 34% of taxable income over
$75,000
Over $100,000 but not over $335,000 $22,250 + 39% of taxable income over
$100,000
Over $335,000 34% of taxable income
Over $10,000,000 but not over $3,400,000 + 35% of taxable income
$15,000,000 over $10,000,000
Over $15,000,000 but not over $5,150,000 + 38% over $15,000,000
$18,333,333
Over $18,333,333 35% of taxable income
m A r g i n A l , Av E r A g E , A n d
E F F E c t i v E tA x r At E s F o r tA x PAy E r s
A taxpayer’s marginal tax rate is the tax rate applied to an incremental amount of taxable
income that is added to the tax base. The marginal tax rate concept is useful for planning
because it measures the tax effect of a proposed transaction.
eXAmPLe i:1-4 c Tania, who is single, is considering the purchase of a personal residence that will provide a
$20,000 tax deduction for interest expense and real estate taxes in 2017. Tania’s taxable income
would be reduced from $120,000 to $100,000 if she purchases the residence. Because a 28% tax
rate applies to taxable income from $100,000 to $120,000, Tania’s marginal tax rate is 28%. Thus,
Tania’s tax savings from purchasing the personal residence would be $5,600 (0.28 × $20,000). b
While the marginal tax rate measures the tax rate applicable to the next $1 of income
or deduction for a taxpayer, there are two other tax rates that are used primarily by tax
policymakers: average tax rate and effective tax rate. The average tax rate is computed
by dividing the total tax liability by the amount of taxable income. This represents the
average rate of tax for each dollar of taxable income. For example, a single taxpayer with
taxable income of $450,000 in 2017 would incur a total tax liability of 134,019. The tax-
payer’s marginal tax rate is 39.6%, but his average tax rate is 29.8% (134,019/$450,000).
5 See the discussion of equity and fairness later in this chapter. the tax equals 34% of taxable income. A 35% tax rate applies to taxable
6 For C corporations with taxable income over $100,000, the lower rates income in excess of $10 million. For corporations with taxable income in
of tax on the first $75,000 of income are gradually phased out by applying excess of $15 million, a 3 percentage-point-surtax applies to taxable income
a 5-percentage-point surtax on taxable income from $100,000 to $335,000 from $15 million to $18,333,333 to eliminate the lower 34% rate that applies
so that benefits of the favorable rates are eliminated once a corporation’s to the first $10 million of taxable income.
taxable income reaches $335,000. Once taxable income exceeds $335,000 7 Also see the inside back cover for the corporation income tax rates.
1-6 Individuals ▶ Chapter 1
AdditionAL Comment The effective tax rate is the total tax liability divided by total economic income. total
One method of calculating eco- economic income includes all types of economic income that a taxpayer has for the year.
nomic income is to start with
adjusted gross income (AGI), add
Thus, economic income is much broader than taxable income and includes most types
back items of excludible income, of excludible income, such as tax-exempt bond interest, and generally permits business
such as tax-exempt bond interest, deductions but not personal-type deductions. It should be pointed out that economic
proceeds of life insurance policies,
etc., and then deduct certain income is not statutorily defined and experts may disagree on a precise calculation. The
nondeductible business expenses, basic purpose of calculating the effective tax rate is to provide a broad measure of taxpay-
such as life insurance premiums,
penalties and fines, etc. ers’ ability to pay taxes. Accordingly, the effective tax rate mainly is used by tax policy-
makers to determine the fairness of the income tax system.
eXAmPLe i:1-5 c Amelia, who is single, has adjusted gross income of $140,000 and economic income of $175,000
in 2017. The difference is attributable to $35,000 of tax-exempt bond interest. If Amelia has
deductions of $30,000, then her taxable income is $110,000, and her total tax is $23,782.
Her average tax rate is 21.62% ($23,782 ÷ $110,000). Amelia’s effective tax rate is 13.59%
($23,782 ÷ $175,000). Amelia’s effective tax rate is considerably lower than her average tax rate
because of her substantial amount of tax-exempt income. b
STOP & THINK Question: Gwen, a single taxpayer, has seen her income climb to $200,000 in the current
year. She wants a tax planner to help her reduce her tax liability. In planning for tax
clients, tax professionals almost exclusively use the marginal tax rate in their analysis
rather than the average tax rate. Why is the marginal tax rate much more important in the
tax planning process than the average tax rate?
Solution: Because tax planning is done at the margin. A single taxpayer who has taxable
income of $200,000 has a marginal tax rate of 33% (at 2017 rates), but an average tax
rate of 24.70%, computed as follows:
Taxable income $200,000
If a tax planner could reduce Gwen’s taxable income by $10,000, Gwen’s tax liability would
decrease by $3,333 ($10,000 × 0.33). When the taxpayer wants to know how much she
can save through tax planning, the appropriate marginal tax rate yields the answer.
Overall, estimated effective federal income tax rates for individuals have increased slightly
during the period 2003–2012,8 amounting to 12.6% in 2012 as compared with 9.1%
in 2003. For the highest 20% of households, the effective individual income tax rate in-
creased to 18.0% in 2012 from 14.4% in 2003. The effective tax rate for individuals in
the United States is relatively low compared to most other industrialized countries.
AdditionAL Comment
In the determination of tax rates, d E t E r m i n At i o n o F tA x A B l E
one should consider the incidence
of taxation that involves the issue i n c o m E A n d tA x d u E
of who really bears the burden of As will be discussed in later chapters, the federal income taxes imposed on all taxpayers
the tax. If a city raises the real
property tax but landlords simply (individuals, corporations, estates, and trusts) are based on the determination of taxable
raise rents to pass on the higher income. In general, taxable income is computed as follows:
taxes, the tax burden is shifted to
their tenants. The concept has Total income (income from whatever source derived) $xxx
important implications in deter-
mining any kind of average or Minus: Exclusions (specifically defined items, such as
effective tax rate. tax-exempt bond interest) (xx)
W E A lt h t r A n s F E r tA x E s
U.S. citizens are subject to taxation on certain transfers of property to another person. The
tax law provides a unified transfer tax system that imposes a single tax on transfers of prop-
erty taking place during an individual’s lifetime (gifts) and at death (estates). (See the inside
back cover of the text for the transfer tax rate schedules.) Formerly, the gift and estate tax
laws were separate and distinct. The federal estate tax was initially enacted in 1916. The
original gift tax law dates back to 1932. The gift tax was originally imposed to prevent
widespread avoidance of the estate tax (e.g., taxpayers could make tax-free gifts of property
9 For a thorough discussion of state and local taxes, see the chapter entitled and Wyoming. New Hampshire has an income tax that is levied only on
Multistate Income Taxation that accompanies this textbook in electronic form on dividend and interest income and Tennessee’s income tax applies only to
the Pearson Federal Taxation 2018 Web page at www.prenhall.com/phtax. income from stocks and bonds.
10 11 See Chapter I:2 for a discussion of the AGI computation.
These states are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington,
1-8 Individuals ▶ Chapter 1
before their death). Both the gift and estate taxes are wealth transfer taxes levied on the
transfer of property and are based on the fair market value (FMV) of the transferred prop-
erty on the date of the transfer. Following are brief descriptions of the gift tax and estate tax.
Key Point The Federal Gift Tax. The gift tax is an excise tax that is imposed on the donor (not the
The $14,000 annual exclusion is donee) for transfers of property that are considered to be a taxable gift. A gift, generally
an important tax-planning tool speaking, is a transfer made gratuitously and with donative intent. However, the gift tax
for wealthy parents who want to
transfer assets to their children law has expanded the definition to include transfers that are not supported by full and
and thereby minimize their gift adequate consideration.12 To arrive at the amount of taxable gifts for the current year, a
and estate taxes. A husband and
wife who have three children $14,000 (2017) annual exclusion is allowed per donee.13 In addition, an unlimited marital
could transfer a maximum of deduction is allowed for transfers between spouses.14 The formula for computing the gift
$84,000 [($14,000 × 2) × 3] to tax is as follows:
their children each year without
incurring any gift tax.
FMV of all gifts made in the current year $x,xxx
Minus: Annual donee exclusions ($14,000 per donee) $xx
Marital deduction for gifts to spouse xx
Charitable contribution deduction xx (xxx)
Plus: Taxable gifts for all prior years xxx
Cumulative taxable gifts (tax base) $x,xxx
Times: Unified transfer tax rates × .xx
Tentative tax on gift tax base $ xxx
Minus: Unified transfer taxes paid in prior years (xx)
Unified credit (xx)
Unified transfer tax (gift tax) due in the current year $ xx
AdditionAL Comment Note that the gift tax is cumulative over the taxpayer’s lifetime (i.e., the tax calculation for the
The gift tax was enacted to make current year includes the taxable gifts made in prior years). The detailed tax rules relating to
the estate tax more effective. the gift tax are covered in Chapter C:12 in both Pearson’s Federal Taxation: Corporations,
Without a gift tax, estate taxes
could be easily avoided by large Partnerships, Estates & Trusts and the Comprehensive volume. The following general
gifts made before death. concepts and rules for the federal gift tax are presented as background material for other
chapters of this text dealing with individual taxpayers:
c Gifts between spouses are exempted from the gift tax due to the operation of an unlim-
ited marital deduction.
c The primary liability for payment of the gift tax is imposed on the donor. The donee is
contingently liable for payment of the gift tax in the event of nonpayment by the donor.
c A donor is permitted a $14,000 annual exclusion for gifts of a present interest to each
donee.15
c Charitable contributions are effectively exempted from the gift tax because an unlim-
ited deduction is allowed.
c The tax basis of the property to the donee is generally the donor’s cost. It is the lesser
of the donor’s cost and the property’s FMV on the date of the gift if the property is sold
by the donee at a loss. (See Chapter I:5 for a discussion of the gift tax basis rules.)
c A unified tax credit equivalent to a $5,000,000 deduction (adjusted for inflation, the
amount is $5,490,000 for 2017) is available to offset any gift tax on taxable gifts that
exceed the $14,000 annual exclusion.16
eXAmPLe i:1-6 c Antonio makes the following gifts in the year 2017:
c $25,000 cash gift to his wife
c $15,000 contribution to the United Way
12 Sec. 2512(b). donee is currently entitled to receive the income from the property. A gift of a
13 Sec. 2503(b). The annual exclusion for gift tax purposes had been $10,000 future interest comes into being at some future date (e.g., property is transferred
for many years. However, for 2002–2005, the inflation adjustment increased by gift to a trust in which the donee is not entitled to the income from the prop-
the exclusion to $11,000, for 2006–2008, the exclusion was increased to erty until the donor dies) and is not eligible for the $14,000 annual exclusion.
$12,000, and for 2009–2012 to $13,000. For 2013 and later years, the cur- 16 The applicable exclusion amount has been $1,000,000 since 2002. However,
rent exclusion has been increased to $14,000. beginning in 2011, the exclusion was increased to $5,000,000, adjusted for infla-
14 Sec. 2523(a). tion. For further details, see Pearson’s Federal Taxation: Corporations, Partner-
15 A gift of a present interest is an interest that is already in existence and the ships, Estates & Trusts, 2018 Edition, Chapters C:12 and C:13.
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spread. As sure as I am now dictating to you, the practical way of
teaching is “Explanation, followed by Execution.” Have a lecture on
Optics in the morning: make a telescope in the afternoon. Tell the boys
in the morning about the mariner’s compass and the use of the chart;
and in the afternoon go out and navigate a Ship.
Similarly, with the selection of boys for the Navy, I didn’t want any
examination whatsoever, except the boy and his parents being “vetted,”
and then an interview with the boy to examine his personality (his soul,
in fact); and not to have an article in the Navy stuffed by patent
cramming schoolmasters like a Strasburg goose. A goose’s liver is not
the desideratum in the candidate. The desideratum was: could we put
into him the four attributes of Nelson:—
I. Self reliance.
(If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.)
II. Fearlessness of Responsibility.
(If you shiver on the brink you’ll catch cold, and possibly
not take the plunge.)
III. Fertility of Resource.
(If the traces break, don’t give it up, get some string.)
IV. Power of initiative.
(Disobey orders.)
Aircraft.
Somewhere about January 15th, 1915, I submitted my resignation
as First Sea Lord to Mr. Churchill because of the supineness
manifested by the High Authorities as regards Aircraft; and I then
prophesied the raids over London in particular and all over England,
that by and by caused several millions sterling of damage and an
infinite fright.
I refer to my resignation on the aircraft question with some fear and
trembling of denials; however, I have a copy of my letter, so it’s all right.
I withdrew my resignation at the request of Authority, because Authority
said that the War Office and not the Admiralty were responsible and
would be held responsible. The aircraft belonged to the War Office; why
on earth couldn’t I mind my own business? I didn’t want the Admiralty
building and our wireless on the roof of it to be bombed; so it was my
business (the War Office was as safe as a church, the Germans would
never bomb that establishment!).
Recently I fortuned to meet Mr. Holt Thomas, and he brought to my
recollection what was quite a famous meeting at the Admiralty. Soon
after I became First Sea Lord on October 31st, 1914, I had called
together at the Admiralty a Great Company of all interested in the air;
for at that moment I had fully satisfied myself that small airships with a
speed of fifty miles an hour would be of inestimable value against
submarines and also for scouting purposes near the coast. So they
proved.
Mr. Holt Thomas was a valued witness before the Royal
Commission on Oil and Oil Engines, of which I was Chairman (a sad
business for me financially—I only possessed a few hundred pounds
and I put it into Oil—I had to sell them out, of course, on becoming
Chairman of the Oil Commission, and what I put those few hundreds
into caused a disappearance of most of those hundreds, and when I
emerged from the Royal Commission the oil shares had more than
quintupled in value and gone up to twenty times what they were when I
first put in).
Through Mr. Holt Thomas we obtained the very important evidence
of the French inventor of the Gnome engine—that wonderful engine
that really made aeroplanes what they now are. His evidence was of
peculiar value; and so also was that of Mr. Holt Thomas’s experience;
and the result of the Admiralty meeting on aircraft was that we obtained
from Mr. Holt Thomas an airship in a few weeks, when the experience
hitherto had been that it took years; and a great number of this type of
aircraft were used with immense advantage in the war. I remember so
well that the very least time that could be promised with every effort
and unstinted money, was three months (but Mr. Holt Thomas gave a
shorter time). In three weeks an airship was flying over the Admiralty at
50 miles an hour (“there’s nothing you can’t have if you want it
enough”), and now we’ve reached the Epoch—prodigious in its advent
—when positively the Air commands and dominates both Land and
Sea; and we shall witness quite shortly a combination in one Structure
of the Aeroplane, the Airship, the parachute, the common balloon, and
an Aerial Torpedo, which will both astound people by its simplicity and
by its extraordinary possibilities, both in War and Commerce (the
torpedo will become cargo in Commerce). The aeroplane has now to
keep moving to live—but why should it? The aerial gyroscopic
locomotive torpedo suspended by a parachute has a tremendous
significance.
And let no one think like the ostrich that burying one’s head in the
sand will make Invention desist. At the first Hague Peace Conference in
1899, when I was one of the British Delegates, huge nonsense was
talked about the amenities of war. War has no amenities, although Mr.
Norman Angell attacked me in print for saying so. It’s like two Innocents
playing singlestick; they agree, when they begin, not to hit hard, but it
don’t last long! Like fighting using only one fist against the other man
with two; the other fist damn soon comes out! The Ancient who
formulated that “All’s fair in love and war” enunciated a great natural
principle
* * * * *
The following précis of correspondence is inserted because
contributory to Lord Fisher’s resignation. He had previously written to
Mr. Churchill, resigning on the ground of the disregard of his warnings
respecting the Aircraft menace:—
An Official Secret German Dispatch, obtained from a German
Source, dated December 26th, 1914:—
The General Staff of the German Army are sending aircraft to
attack French fortified places. Full use to be made of favourable
weather conditions for attack of Naval Zeppelins against the East Coast
of England with the exception of London. The attack on London will
follow later combined with the German Army Airships.
* * * * *
Précis of History of Rigid Airships of Zeppelin Type.—
Lord Fisher, when First Sea Lord, in December, 1908, instructed
Admiral Bacon to press for the construction of rigid airships for naval
purposes at the meetings of a Sub-Committee of the Committee of
Imperial Defence, which held its first meeting in December, 1908, after
many meetings at which Admiral Bacon presented the naval point of
view with much lucidity. The Committee recommended on January
28th, 1909, the following:—
(a) The Committee are of opinion that the dangers to which we
might be exposed by developments in aerial navigation cannot be
definitely ascertained until we ourselves possess airships.
(b) There are good grounds for assuming that airships will prove of
great value to the Navy for scouting and possibly for destructive
12
purposes. From a military point of view they are also important.
(c) A sum of £35,000 should be included in the Naval Estimates for
the purpose of building an airship of a rigid type. The sum alluded to
should include the cost of all preliminary and incidental expenses.
(d) A sum of £10,000 should be included in Army Estimates for
continuing experiments with navigable balloons of a non-rigid type, and
for the purchase of complete non-rigid airships and their component
parts.
And nothing more was done till I came back to Admiralty on October
30th, 1914!
Letter from Admiral Sir S. Eardley Wilmot, formerly Superintendent
of Ordnance Stores, Admiralty:—
“Sow the North Sea with Mines on such a huge scale that
Naval Operations in it become utterly impossible.”
* * * * *
Here I would insert a note which I discovered this very afternoon
sent me by an unknown friend when Admiral von Spee and all his host
went to the bottom. Before that event there had been a series of
disasters at sea, and a grave uneasy feeling about our Navy was
spreading over the land. The three great Cruisers—“Hogue,” “Cressy”
and “Aboukir”—had been sunk near the German coast. What were they
doing there? Did they think they were Nelson blockading Toulon? The
“Goeben” and “Breslau” had escaped from our magnificent Battle
Cruisers, then in the Mediterranean, which had actually boxed them up
in the Harbour of Messina; and they had gone unharmed to
Constantinople, and like highwaymen had held a pistol at the head of
the Sultan with the threat of bombarding Constantinople and his Palace
and thus converted Turkey, our ancient ally, into the most formidable
foe we had. For is not England the greatest Mahomedan Power in the
world? The escape of the “Goeben” and “Breslau” was an irreparable
disaster almost equalled by our effete handling of Bulgaria, the key
State of the Balkans; and we didn’t give her what she asked. When we
offered it and more next year, she told us to go to hell. Then there was
the “Pegasus,” that could neither fight nor run away, massacred in cold
blood at Zanzibar by a German Cruiser as superior to her as our Battle
Cruisers were to von Spee. And last of all, as a climax, that sent the
hearts of the British people into their boots, poor Cradock and his brave
ships were sunk by Admiral von Spee. I became First Sea Lord within
24 hours of that event, and without delay the Dreadnought Battle
Cruisers, “Inflexible” and “Invincible,” went 7,000 miles without a hitch
in their water tube boilers or their turbine machinery, and arrived at the
Falkland Islands almost simultaneously with Admiral von Spee and his
eleven ships. That night von Spee, like another Casablanca with his
son on board, had gone to the bottom and all his ships save one—and
that one also soon after—were sunk. I have to reiterate about von
Spee, as to this day the veil is upon the faces of our people, and they
do not realise the Salvation that came to them.
1. We should have had no munitions—our nitrate came from Chili.
2. We should have lost the Pacific—the Falkland Islands would
have been another Heligoland and a submarine base.
3. Von Spee had German reservists, picked up on the Pacific
Coast, on board, to man the fortifications to be erected on the Falkland
Islands.
4. He would have proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope and
massacred our Squadron there, as he had massacred Cradock and his
Squadron.
5. General Botha and his vast fleet of transports proceeding to the
conquest of German South-West Africa would have been destroyed.
6. Africa under Hertzog would have become German.
7. Von Spee, distributing his Squadron on every Ocean, would
have exterminated British Trade.
That’s not a bad résumé!
Now I give the note, for it really is first-rate. Who wrote it I don’t
know, and I don’t know the paper that it came from:—
The writer of the paragraph quotes the above words from some
other paper; then he goes on with the following remark:—
That was in 1873. More than thirty years after, “Young Fisher” was
instrumental in making this principle the basis of the new system of
education of all naval cadets at Osborne.
I remember so well taking a “rise” out of my exalted company of
Admirals and others. The voltaic element, which all lecturers then
produced with gusto as the elementary galvanic cell, was known as the
“Daniell Cell.” A bit of zinc, and a bit of copper stuck in sawdust
saturated with diluted sulphuric acid, and there you were! A bit of wire
from the zinc to one side of a galvanometer and a bit of wire from the
copper to the other side and round went the needle as if pursued by the
devil.
There were endless varieties of this “Daniell Cell,” which it was
always considered right and proper to describe. “Now,” I said, “Sirs, I
will give you without any doubt whatsoever the original Daniell Cell”—at
that moment disclosing to their rapt and enquiring gaze a huge drawing
(occupying the whole side of the lecture room and previously shrouded
by a table cloth)—the Lions with their mouths firmly shut and Daniel
apparently biting his nails waiting for daylight! Anyhow, that’s how
Rubens represents him.
I very nearly got into trouble over that “Sell.” Admirals don’t like
being “sold.”
I should have mentioned that antecedent to this I had been
Commander of the China Flagship. I wished very much for the
Mediterranean Flagship; but my life-long and good friend Lord Walter
Kerr was justly preferred before me. The Pacific Flagship was also
vacant; and I think the Admiral wanted me there, but I had a wonderful
good friend at the Admiralty, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, afterwards Lord
Alcester, who was determined I should go to China. So to China I went;
and, as it happened, it turned out trumps, for the Admiral got softening
of the brain, and I was told that when he got home and attended at the
Admiralty I was the only thing in his mind; the only thing he could say
was “Fisher!” And this luckily helped me in my promotion to Post
Captain.
After starting the “Vernon” as Torpedo School of the Navy and
partaking in a mission to Fiume to arrange for the purchase of the
Whitehead Torpedo, I was sent at an hour’s notice overland to Malta,
where on entering the harbour I noticed an old tramp picking up her
anchor, and on enquiry found she was going to Constantinople, where
the ship I was to command was with the Fleet under Sir Geoffrey
Hornby. I went alongside, got up a rope ladder that was hanging over
the side and pulled up my luggage with a rope’s end, when the Captain
of the Tramp came up to me and said: “Hullo!” I said “Hullo!” He said
“What is it you want?” He didn’t know who I was, and I was in plain
clothes, just as I had travelled over the Continent, and I replied: “I’m
going with you to Constantinople to join my ship”; and he said “There
ain’t room; there’s only one bunk, and when I ain’t in it the mate is.” I
said “All right, I don’t want a bunk.” And he said “Well, we ain’t got no
cook.” And I said “That don’t matter either.” That man and I till he died
were like Jonathan and David. He was a magnificent specimen of those
splendid men who command our merchant ships—I worshipped the
ground he trod on. His mate was just as good. They kept watch and
watch, and it was a hard life. I said to him one day “Captain, I never see
you take sights.” “Well,” he said, “Why should I? When I leaves one
lamp-post I steers for the other” (meaning lighthouses); “and,” he says,
“I trusts my engineer. He gives me the revolutions what the engine has
made, and I know exactly where I am. And,” he says, “when you have
been going twenty years on the same road and no other road, you gets
to know exactly how to do it.” “Well,” I said, “what do you do about your
compass? are you sure it’s correct? In the Navy, you know, we’re
constantly looking at the sun when it sets, and that’s an easy way of
seeing that the compass is right.” “Well,” he said, “what I does is this. I
throws a cask overboard, and when it’s as far off as ever I can see it, I
turns the ship round on her axis. I takes the bearing of the cask at
every point of the compass, I adds ’em all up, divides the total by the
number of bearings, which gives me the average, and then I subtracts
each point of the compass from it, and that’s what the compass is
wrong on each point. But,” he says, “I seldom does it, because
provided I make the lamp-post all right I think the compass is all right.”
I found Admiral Hornby’s fleet at Ismid near Constantinople, and
Admiral Hornby sent a vessel to meet me at Constantinople. He had
heard from Malta that I was on board the tramp. That great man was
the finest Admiral afloat since Nelson. At the Admiralty he was a failure.
So would Nelson have been! With both of them their Perfection was on
the Sea, not at an office desk. Admiral Hornby I simply adored. I had
known him many years; and while my cabins on board my ship were
being painted, he asked me to come and live with him aboard his
Flagship, which I did, and I was next ship to him always when at sea.
He was astounding. He would tell you what you were going to do wrong
before you did it; and you couldn’t say you weren’t going to do it
because you had put your helm over and the ship had begun to move
the wrong way. Many years afterwards, when he was the Port Admiral
at Portsmouth, I was head of the Gunnery School at Portsmouth, and,
some war scare arising, he was ordered to take command of the whole
Fleet at home collected at Portland. He took me with him as a sort of
Captain of the Fleet, and we went to Bantry Bay, where we had
exercises of inestimable value. He couldn’t bear a fool, so of course he
had many enemies. There never lived a more noble character or a
greater seaman. He was incomparable.
* * * * *
After commanding the “Pallas” in the Mediterranean under Sir
Geoffrey Hornby, I was selected by Admiral Sir Cooper Key as his Flag
Captain in North America in command of the “Bellerophon”; and I again
followed Sir Cooper Key as his Flag Captain in the “Hercules” when he
also was put in command of a large fleet on another war scare arising.
It was in that year I began the agitation for the introduction of Lord
Kelvin’s compass into the Navy, and I continued that agitation with the
utmost vehemence till the compass was adopted. After that I was
chosen by Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock, the great Arctic Explorer, to
be his Flag Captain on the North American Station, in the
“Northampton,” then a brand new ship. He again was a splendid man
and his kindness to me is unforgettable. He had gone through great
hardships in the Arctic—once he hadn’t washed for 179 days. He was
like a rare old bit of mahogany; and I was told by an admirer of his that
when the thermometer was 70 degrees below zero he found the ship
so stuffy that he slept outside on the ice in his sleeping bag.
I must, while I have the chance, say a few words about my friend
Haddock. It was a splendid Captain in the White Star steamer in which I
crossed to America in 1910, and I remarked this to my Cabin Steward,
as a matter of conversation. “Ah!” he said, “you should see ’addick.”
Then he added “We knows him as ’addick of the ‘Oceanic.’ Yes,” he
said, “and Mr. Ismay (the Head of the White Star Line) knows him too!”
The “Oceanic” was Mr. Ismay’s last feat in narrowness and length and
consequent speed for crossing the Atlantic. I have heard that when he
was dying he went to see her. This conversation never left my mind,
although it was only the cabin steward that told me; but he was an
uncommon good steward. So when I came back to the Admiralty as
First Sea Lord on October 31st, 1914, I at once got hold of Haddock,
made him into a Commodore, and he commanded the finest fleet of
dummy wooden “Dreadnoughts” and Battle Cruisers the world had ever
looked on, and they agitated the Atlantic, and the “Queen Elizabeth” in
wood got blown up by the Germans at the Dardanelles instead of the
real one. The Germans left the other battleships alone chasing the
“Elizabeth.” If this should meet the eye of Haddock, I want to tell him
that, had I remained, he would have been Sir Herbert Haddock, K.C.B.,
or I’d have died in the attempt.
* * * * *
Now you have got perhaps not all you want, but sufficient for the
Notes to follow here.
The “Warrior”
I was appointed Gunnery Lieutenant of the “Warrior” our First
Ironclad in 1863, when I was a little over 22 years old. I had just won
the Beaufort Testimonial (Senior Wrangler), and that, with a
transcendental Certificate from Commodore Oliver Jones, who was at
that time the demon of the Navy, gave me a “leg up.”
The “Warrior” was then, like the “Inflexible” in 1882 and the
“Dreadnought” in 1905, the cynosure of all eyes. She had a very
famous Captain, the son of that great seaman Lord Dundonald, and a
still more famous Commander, Sir George Tryon, who afterwards went
down in the “Victoria.” She had a picked crew of officers and men, so I
was wonderfully fortunate to be the Gunnery Lieutenant, and at so
young an age I got on very well, except for sky-larking in the ward-
room, for which I got into trouble. There was a dear old grey-headed
Paymaster, and a mature Doctor, and a still more mature Chaplain,
quite a dear old Saint. These, with other willing spirits, of a younger
phase, I organised into a peripatetic band. The Parson used to play the
coal scuttle, the Doctor the tongs and shovel, the dear old Paymaster
used to do the cymbals with an old tin kettle. The other instruments we
made ourselves out of brown paper, and we perambulated, doing our
best. The Captain came out of his cabin door and asked the sentry
what that noise was? We were all struck dumb by his voice, the skylight
being open, and we were silent. The Sentry said: “It’s only Mr. Fisher,
Sir!” so he shut the door! The Commander, Sir George Tryon, wasn’t so
nice! He sent down a message to say the Gunnery Lieutenant was “to
stop that fooling!” (However, this only drove us into another kind of
sport!) We were all very happy messmates; they kindly spoilt me as if I
was the Baby. I never went ashore by any chance, so all the other
Lieutenants liked me because I took their duty for them. One of them
was like Nelson’s signal—he expected every man to do his duty! I was