Elaine S. Bennett - Page 12

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          case was submitted for decision in April 1995.                              
               In Powell v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-264, the Court              
          also held that the taxpayer was liable for the excise tax under             
          section 4980A.  There the taxpayer, a teacher employed in the               
          Baltimore and Hagerstown Public Schools until his retirement in             
          1992, received a distribution (in the form of a transfer refund             
          from the Maryland State Teachers' Retirement System) in 1990.               
               We acknowledge that the argument advanced by petitioner in             
          the present case was not expressly addressed by the Court in                
          Rodoni v. Commissioner, supra; Montgomery v. Commissioner, supra;           
          or Powell v. Commissioner, supra.  Nevertheless, we think that              
          the latter three cases are significant because the analysis                 
          therein represents an application of the statutory language of              
          section 4980A that applies straightforwardly to the present case.           
                    E.  Legislative Intent                                            
               Petitioner also argues that Congress did not intend for the            
          excise tax under section 4980A to apply to amounts distributed              
          under a qualified employer plan to an individual who is not                 
          retired.  Here, however, we are reminded of the admonition of the           
          Supreme Court that "There is * * * no more persuasive evidence of           
          the purpose of a statute than the words by which the legislature            
          undertook to give expression to its wishes."  United States v.              
          American Trucking Associations, 310 U.S. 534, 543 (1940).  Thus,            
          where a statute appears to be clear on its face, unequivocal                





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