Taxation--Federal Income Tax--Treatment of Nondistributable Capital Gains of Domestic Trust with Foreign Beneficiaries

Taxpayer, trustee of a domestic inter vivos trust, sued for a refund of United States income taxes paid on nondistributable capital gains of the trust. Trustee claimed that since all the beneficiaries of the trust were United Kingdom residents, this income was tax-exempt under the United States-United Kingdom tax convention provision that a United Kingdom resident shall be exempt from United States tax on gains from the sale or exchange of capital assets. On appeal by the United States from a district court judgment for the trustee, held, reversed. Although distributable gains are allowed the exemption, long term capital gains realized by a domestic trust, and accumulated for later distribution, are considered income to the trust regardless of the beneficiaries\u27 residence; the convention was not intended to override United States law which treats a trust as a separate taxable entity. Maximov v. United States, 299 F.2d 565 (2d Cir.), cert. granted, 371 U.S. 810 (1962)

Insurance-Variable Annuities-Application of Investment Company Act of 1940

Anticipating the sale of variable annuity contracts as a part of its regular business, Prudential, a life insurance company, applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission for complete exemption from the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Prudential claimed that it qualified for exemption as an insurance company under the definition of insurance company in the Investment Company Act ( a company ... whose primary and predominant business activity is the writing of insurance . . . and which is subject to supervision by the insurance commissioner or a similar official or agency of a state ). In the alternative, Prudential requested exemption from specific provisions of the Investment Company Act relating primarily to investor control and redeemability requirements. On the principal application, asking complete exemption, held, denied. If an insurance company sells equity interests to the public and creates an investment fund, the insurance company\u27s exemption from federal regulation does not carry over to the investment fund, which is treated as a separate entity. Moreover, the Supreme Court decision which initially brought the variable annuity under federal securities regulation as a security classified the annuity contract itself, apart from any consideration of the type of company issuing it. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, SEC Investment Co. Act Release No. 3620, Jan. 22, 1963

Security-Chattel Mortgages-Mortgage Recorded Under Federal Aviation Act of 1958S as Affected by State Laws

Defendant, a Michigan corporation, ordered a new airplane from Air-O-Fleet, a retailer. Air-O-Fleet financed its purchase from the manufacturer through a loan from plaintiff, a Texas corporation, who took a chattel mortgage on the airplane. One day after Air-O-Fleet had made delivery to defendant and received full payment, plaintiff recorded the chattel mortgage with the Federal Aviation Authority in accordance with the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, section 1403, which provides that no conveyance or instrument ... shall be valid ... against any person other than the person by whom the conveyance or other instrument is made or given, ... or any person having actual notice thereof, until such conveyance is filed for recordation in the office of the Administrator.\u27\u27 Air-O-Fleet became bankrupt, and plaintiff filed suit against the defendant to recover the airplane or, in the alternative, the amount owing on the mortgage. On a motion by the plaintiff for summary judgment, held, denied. Since the conveyance to defendant preceded recordation of the mortgage, defendant took absolute title to the airplane unless he had actual notice of the mortgage. Even upon a trial determination that the defendant had actual notice, if the mortgage were otherwise void as to defendant under state law, federal recording would not save it. Aircraft Investment Corp. v. Pezzani b Reid Equipment Co., 205 F. Supp. 80 (E.D. Mich. 1962)

Taxation--Federal Income Tax--Treatment of Nondistributable Capital Gains of Domestic Trust with Foreign Beneficiaries

Taxpayer, trustee of a domestic inter vivos trust, sued for a refund of United States income taxes paid on nondistributable capital gains of the trust. Trustee claimed that since all the beneficiaries of the trust were United Kingdom residents, this income was tax-exempt under the United States-United Kingdom tax convention provision that a United Kingdom resident shall be exempt from United States tax on gains from the sale or exchange of capital assets. On appeal by the United States from a district court judgment for the trustee, held, reversed. Although distributable gains are allowed the exemption, long term capital gains realized by a domestic trust, and accumulated for later distribution, are considered income to the trust regardless of the beneficiaries\u27 residence; the convention was not intended to override United States law which treats a trust as a separate taxable entity. Maximov v. United States, 299 F.2d 565 (2d Cir.), cert. granted, 371 U.S. 810 (1962)

Insurance-Variable Annuities-Application of Investment Company Act of 1940

Anticipating the sale of variable annuity contracts as a part of its regular business, Prudential, a life insurance company, applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission for complete exemption from the requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Prudential claimed that it qualified for exemption as an insurance company under the definition of insurance company in the Investment Company Act ( a company ... whose primary and predominant business activity is the writing of insurance . . . and which is subject to supervision by the insurance commissioner or a similar official or agency of a state ). In the alternative, Prudential requested exemption from specific provisions of the Investment Company Act relating primarily to investor control and redeemability requirements. On the principal application, asking complete exemption, held, denied. If an insurance company sells equity interests to the public and creates an investment fund, the insurance company\u27s exemption from federal regulation does not carry over to the investment fund, which is treated as a separate entity. Moreover, the Supreme Court decision which initially brought the variable annuity under federal securities regulation as a security classified the annuity contract itself, apart from any consideration of the type of company issuing it. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, SEC Investment Co. Act Release No. 3620, Jan. 22, 1963

Security-Chattel Mortgages-Mortgage Recorded Under Federal Aviation Act of 1958S as Affected by State Laws

Defendant, a Michigan corporation, ordered a new airplane from Air-O-Fleet, a retailer. Air-O-Fleet financed its purchase from the manufacturer through a loan from plaintiff, a Texas corporation, who took a chattel mortgage on the airplane. One day after Air-O-Fleet had made delivery to defendant and received full payment, plaintiff recorded the chattel mortgage with the Federal Aviation Authority in accordance with the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, section 1403, which provides that no conveyance or instrument ... shall be valid ... against any person other than the person by whom the conveyance or other instrument is made or given, ... or any person having actual notice thereof, until such conveyance is filed for recordation in the office of the Administrator.\u27\u27 Air-O-Fleet became bankrupt, and plaintiff filed suit against the defendant to recover the airplane or, in the alternative, the amount owing on the mortgage. On a motion by the plaintiff for summary judgment, held, denied. Since the conveyance to defendant preceded recordation of the mortgage, defendant took absolute title to the airplane unless he had actual notice of the mortgage. Even upon a trial determination that the defendant had actual notice, if the mortgage were otherwise void as to defendant under state law, federal recording would not save it. Aircraft Investment Corp. v. Pezzani b Reid Equipment Co., 205 F. Supp. 80 (E.D. Mich. 1962)

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human- dominated landscapes such that only species with - winning- combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty- three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species- capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human- dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human- modified landscapes.Human activity and land use change are driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others, but predicting which species will successfully coexist with humans remains a challenge. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America and showed that species life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint (landscape modification), with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. Positive and negative effects of direct human presence (e.g., recreation, hunting) were distributed more randomly across species, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/1/gcb15650.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/2/gcb15650_am.pd

Disturbance type and species life history predict mammal responses to humans

Human activity and land use change impact every landscape on Earth, driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others. Species ecological and life history traits may predict success in human- dominated landscapes such that only species with - winning- combinations of traits will persist in disturbed environments. However, this link between species traits and successful coexistence with humans remains obscured by the complexity of anthropogenic disturbances and variability among study systems. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America to quantify the effects of (1) the direct presence of people and (2) the human footprint (landscape modification) on mammal occurrence and activity levels. Thirty- three percent of mammal species exhibited a net negative response (i.e., reduced occurrence or activity) to increasing human presence and/or footprint across populations, whereas 58% of species were positively associated with increasing disturbance. However, apparent benefits of human presence and footprint tended to decrease or disappear at higher disturbance levels, indicative of thresholds in mammal species- capacity to tolerate disturbance or exploit human- dominated landscapes. Species ecological and life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint, with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. The positive and negative effects of human presence were distributed more randomly with respect to species trait values, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds. Differential responses by some species to human presence and human footprint highlight the importance of considering these two forms of human disturbance separately when estimating anthropogenic impacts on wildlife. Our approach provides insights into the complex mechanisms through which human activities shape mammal communities globally, revealing the drivers of the loss of larger predators in human- modified landscapes.Human activity and land use change are driving declines in many animal species while benefiting others, but predicting which species will successfully coexist with humans remains a challenge. We compiled detection data for 24 mammal species from 61 populations across North America and showed that species life history traits were strong predictors of their responses to human footprint (landscape modification), with increasing footprint favoring smaller, less carnivorous, faster- reproducing species. Positive and negative effects of direct human presence (e.g., recreation, hunting) were distributed more randomly across species, with apparent winners and losers across a range of body sizes and dietary guilds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/1/gcb15650.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/168486/2/gcb15650_am.pd

A Multi-Scale Distribution Model for Non-Equilibrium Populations Suggests Resource Limitation in an Endangered Rodent

Species distributions are known to be limited by biotic and abiotic factors at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Species distribution models, however, frequently assume a population at equilibrium in both time and space. Studies of habitat selection have repeatedly shown the difficulty of estimating resource selection if the scale or extent of analysis is incorrect. Here, we present a multi-step approach to estimate the realized and potential distribution of the endangered giant kangaroo rat. First, we estimate the potential distribution by modeling suitability at a range-wide scale using static bioclimatic variables. We then examine annual changes in extent at a population-level. We define "available" habitat based on the total suitable potential distribution at the range-wide scale. Then, within the available habitat, model changes in population extent driven by multiple measures of resource availability. By modeling distributions for a population with robust estimates of population extent through time, and ecologically relevant predictor variables, we improved the predictive ability of SDMs, as well as revealed an unanticipated relationship between population extent and precipitation at multiple scales. At a range-wide scale, the best model indicated the giant kangaroo rat was limited to areas that received little to no precipitation in the summer months. In contrast, the best model for shorter time scales showed a positive relation with resource abundance, driven by precipitation, in the current and previous year. These results suggest that the distribution of the giant kangaroo rat was limited to the wettest parts of the drier areas within the study region. This multi-step approach reinforces the differing relationship species may have with environmental variables at different scales, provides a novel method for defining "available" habitat in habitat selection studies, and suggests a way to create distribution models at spatial and temporal scales relevant to theoretical and applied ecologists