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Tyler v. United States, 281 U.S. 497, 503-504 (1930). The
possession by the decedent of the right of survivorship justifies
the inclusion in the decedent's gross estate due to its
"generating source."
Congress has the power to levy a tax upon the occasion of a
joint tenant's acquiring the status of survivor at the death of
the other joint tenant. United States v. Jacobs, 306 U.S. 363,
367 (1939).
[The] termination of a joint tenancy marked by a change in
the nature of ownership of property was designated by
Congress as an appropriate occasion for the imposition of a
tax. * * * It is immaterial that Congress chose to measure
the amount of the tax by a percentage of the total value of
the property, rather than by a part, or by a set sum for
each such change. The wisdom both of the tax and of its
measurement was for Congress to determine.
Id. at 371.
In arguing that section 2040 is a mere includability
section, petitioner focuses on the language in "to the extent of
the interest therein." According to petitioner, section 2040
merely determines the interest to be included in decedent's gross
estate. In light of similar language in section 2033, petitioner
argues that discounts should be available to joint tenancy under
the valuation provision of section 2031.
We think petitioner's focus is incomplete. In addition to
the cited language, section 2040(a) also provides the following
introductory language: "The value of the gross estate shall
include the value of all property to the extent of the interest
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