530
Opinion of the Court
returns of corporate stockholders. This argument fails because even in the period when the S corporation could not be taxed, examination of a corporation's return was necessary to determine if it could lay valid claim to Subchapter S status. Section 6037(a) thus originally functioned to set the starting date of the 3-year period within which that determination had to be made. See United States v. Adams Building Co., 531 F. 2d 342, 343, n. 2 (CA6 1976); see also 952 F. 2d, at 677 (citing Fehlhaber v. Commissioner, 94 T. C. 863 (1990)).9 Petitioner maintains that such a function would be superfluous because, if the election of S corporation status were found invalid, the corporation's return would "automatically be subject to the existing rules for C corporations." Brief for Petitioner 38. But this proposition is hardly self-evident, and petitioner cites no authority to support it. In the absence of § 6037(a), the Internal Revenue Service could claim that a corporation which files a return containing an erroneous election of Subchapter S status has failed to file any return, which would allow the Service to issue a notice of deficiency with respect to the return "at any time." See § 6501(c)(3); cf. Germantown Trust Co. v. Commissioner, 309 U. S. 304, 307 (1940); Mason v. United States, 801 F. Supp. 718, 721 (ND Ga. 1992).10
9 Since S corporations are now subject to limited taxation, § 6037(a) serves the additional function of determining the assessment period for those taxes. See 952 F. 2d, at 678.
10 Petitioner's reading of § 6037(a) is sufficiently lacking in textual support to obviate any need to examine legislative history. However, several courts have noted that the history of § 6037 contains evidence in support of the Commissioner's interpretation. See, e. g., Green v. Commissioner, 963 F. 2d, at 788-790; Fehlhaber v. Commissioner, 954 F. 2d, at 656-657. Section 6037(a) was introduced in the Technical Amendments Act of 1958, 72 Stat. 1606, 1656. The Senate Report explaining the provision states: "Notwithstanding the fact that an electing small-business corporation is not subject to the tax imposed by chapter 1 of the 1954 Code, such corporation must make a return for each taxable year in accordance with new section 6037 . . . . Such return will be considered as a return filed under section 6012 for purposes of the provisions of chapter 66, relating to limita-
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