See, e.g., CF Indus., Inc. v. Commissioner, 995 F.2d 101, 102 (7th Cir.1993), modifying and affg. T.C.Memo. 1991–568; Cotter & Co. v. United States, 765 F.2d 1102, 1106 (Fed.Cir.1985); Certified Grocers of Cal., Ltd. v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. at 244 n. 13. An Overview of Section 277
See, e.g., CF Indus., Inc. v. Commissioner, 995 F.2d 101, 102 (7th Cir. 1993), modifying and affg. T.C. Memo. 1991-568; Cotter Co. v. United States, 765 F.2d 1102, 1106 (Fed. Cir. 1985); Certified Grocers, Ltd. of Cal. v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. at 244 n. 13. An Overview of Section 277
HELD, that the income was from patronage sources. St. Louis Bank for Cooperatives v. United States, 624 F.2d 1041 (Ct. Cl. 1980), and Cotter and Company v. United States, 765 F.2d 1102 (Fed. Cir. 1985), construed and followed. Arthur E. Bryan, James L. Malone III, and George W. Benson, for the petitioner.
Those loans were the equivalent of the financial instruments that CF Industries purchased with its temporarily surplus cash. Yet the Internal Revenue Service appears to accept the reasoning of St. Louis Bank for Cooperatives. Private Letter Rulings 85-38-005 (May 31, 1985) and 87-50-002 (July 23, 1987) (both available on LEXIS). The latest appellate word is Cotter Co. v. United States, 765 F.2d 1102 (Fed. Cir. 1985), which reached the same result as St. Louis Bank for Cooperatives but on facts that the government concedes are indistinguishable from those of this case. There are no other reported cases.
It is clear that interest income earned by cooperatives is, in some circumstances patronage-sourced income. See Cotter & Co. v. United States, 765 F.2d 1102, 1107 (Fed Cir. 1985); Illinois Grain Corp. v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 435, 459-460 (1986). The test used by this Court to determine if income is patronage-sourced was set forth in Illinois Grain, where we indicated that income is patronage-sourced if it is: