As Fut correctly indicated Dividends are a distribution of reained earnings and therefore with negative earnings PTSC could not have paid dividends.

I had assumed that these were a distribution of partnership income

passing through to shareholders and as such a dividend from the partnership and not from

PTSC directly.

What is really cool about this is that you are not allowed to have

a negative cost basis and so the small guys finally get one over on S/L.

Since S/L have a cost basis of 0 they cannot consider these distributions as non-taxable events They must report these as income while anyone else can reprot teh distributions received up to the cost of

their shares as a return of dollars invested and is therefore non-taxable.

Not sure if you need to refile if you don't wish to need to get the taxes back simply leave your cost basis unadjusted.