Load, et al v. CIR

Filing 920090202

Opinion

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
LOAD, INC.; COAD, INC., Petitioners, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent.

No. 07-72564 D.C. No. CIR-1 : 7287-02 OPINION

Appeal from a Decision of the United States Tax Court Stephen J. Swift, Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted January 14, 2009--San Francisco, California Filed February 2, 2009 Before: Myron H. Bright,* Procter Hug, Jr., and Stephen Reinhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam Opinion

*The Honorable Myron H. Bright, Senior United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit, sitting by designation.

1173

1174

LOAD, INC. v. CIR

COUNSEL John F. Daniels, Janice Procter-Murphy, Alexander Arpad, Phoenix, Arizona, for the petitioners. Richard T. Morrison, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Teresa E. McLaughlin, Kathleen E. Lyon, Washington, D.C., for the respondent.

OPINION PER CURIAM: Appellants LOAD, Inc. and COAD, Inc.1 challenge the Tax Court's determination of a federal income tax deficiency for the tax year ending September 30, 2000. The Tax Court held that certain of ADI's expenses were not deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses under 26 U.S.C. § 162(a) and must be capitalized as inventory costs under 26 U.S.C. § 263A.

Although only LOAD and COAD are parties to this petition for review, Associated Dealers, Inc. and 12 other affiliated companies have raised similar arguments and agree to be bound by the final outcome of this litigation. We refer to LOAD, COAD, Associated Dealers, Inc., and the 12 other affiliated companies as "ADI."

1

LOAD, INC. v. CIR

1175

We review the Tax Court's findings of fact for clear error and its conclusions of law de novo. Kelley v. Comm'r, 45 F.3d 348, 350 (9th Cir. 1995). Our exclusive jurisdiction to review a final decision of the Tax Court arises under 26 U.S.C. § 7482. The Tax Court wrote an extensive opinion on this matter. See LOAD, Inc. v. Comm'r, 93 T.C.M. (CCH) 969 (2007). We approve and adopt that opinion as governing this case. Accordingly, we affirm.