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Association v. Commissioner, 104 T.C. 384, 406 (1995) (Halpern,
J., dissenting), I described how we have resolved those problems:
We are a Court of national jurisdiction with
expertise in the area of Federal taxes. Since appeals
from this Court lie to each of the 12 Courts of
Appeals, we face unique problems in dealing with the
opinions of Circuit Courts. See, e.g., Lawrence v.
Commissioner, 27 T.C. 713 (1957), revd. 258 F.2d 562
(9th Cir. 1958); Golsen v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 742
(1970), affd. 445 F.2d 985 (10th Cir. 1971); Lardas v.
Commissioner, 99 T.C. 490 (1992). We have, since
Lawrence, backed off from the position taken therein,
that, while certainly we should seriously consider the
reasoning of a Court of Appeals that had reversed one
of our decisions, we ought not to follow the Court of
Appeals’ decision if we believe it to be incorrect:
if still of the opinion that its original
result was right, a court of national
jurisdiction to avoid confusion should follow
its own honest beliefs until the Supreme
Court decides the point. The Tax Court early
concluded that it should decide all cases as
it thought right. [Lawrence v. Commissioner,
supra at 716-717; fn. refs. omitted.]
We have backed off to the extent that, in Golsen v.
Commissioner, supra, we created a narrow exception to
the Lawrence doctrine. Where a reversal would appear
inevitable, due to the clearly established position of
the Court of Appeals to which an appeal would lie, our
obligation as a national Court does not require a
futile and wasteful insistence on our view. Golsen v.
Commissioner, 54 T.C. 742, 757. Accordingly, in that
narrow circumstance, although we still think the result
wrong, we will follow that Court of Appeals. Compare
Golsen v. Commissioner, supra (Golsen doctrine
established), with Lardas v. Commissioner, supra
(Golsen doctrine inapplicable). * * *
The majority finds the Golsen doctrine inapplicable.
Majority op. p. 16. Nevertheless, today we overrule three of our
prior decisions with the only apparent justification being that
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