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And section 6324(b) specifically provides that "Any part of * * *
the gift transferred by the donee * * * to a purchaser * * *
shall be divested of the lien imposed by this subsection". The
purchaser takes title free and clear of the lien. Thus, the gift
tax lien would not be likely to affect the amount a buyer would
be willing to pay for the property in light of the unambiguously
explicit language of the statute just quoted above. The
liability of the donee is unlike an encumbrance such as a
mortgage. A mortgage attaches to the property at the time of
transfer, thereby reducing its value, and is properly taken into
account when valuing the gift. Donee liability, in contrast,
does not reduce the value of the property when given, and should
not be taken into account when valuing the gift.
We also note that the gift tax is a tax on the donor's
making of a gift, and is "'measured by the value of the property
passing from the donor'." Robinette v. Helvering, 318 U.S. 184,
186 (1943) (quoting Treasury Reg. 79, art. 3). The value of the
gift is its value in the hands of the donor, not the donee.
Goodman v. Commissioner, 156 F.2d 218, 219 (2d Cir. 1946), affg.
4 T.C. 191 (1944); Rohmer v. Commissioner, 21 T.C. 1099, 1105
(1954). Thus, that value is not "necessarily determined by the
measure of enrichment resulting to the donee from the transfer".
Sec. 25.2511-2(a), Gift Tax Regs. Petitioners cannot use their
subsequent liability for unpaid gift tax to reduce the value of
the gift. See Rohmer v. Commissioner, supra at 1106 (withholding
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