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Cir. 1991), revg. T.C. Memo. 1990-129. "If there are gaps left
by silence or ambiguity of the statutes in question, agencies may
fill the gaps with necessary rules, providing they are
reasonable, and courts should not interfere with this process."
Id. at 300.
Petitioners contend that the unambiguous language of section
448(d)(7)(C)(ii) allowing hospitals to spread over a 10-year
period a section 481(a) adjustment relating to a change in method
of accounting required under section 448(a) may not be limited
under any circumstances. Respondent contends, on the other hand,
that a hospital business is entitled to the benefits of a 10-year
spread only for as long as the hospital engages in the specific
trade or business which generated the section 481(a) adjustment
being spread over those 10 years.
As we stated above, in accordance with the Chevron rule, our
first task in construing section 448(d)(7)(C) is to determine
whether Congress addressed the precise question in issue. As we
view the matter, the specific question we must resolve in the
instant opinion is whether a taxpayer may continue to spread
ratably over a 10-year period a section 481(a) adjustment
attributable to a hospital that relates to a change in method of
accounting made to conform the hospital's method of accounting to
the requirements of section 448(a) even after the taxpayer ceases
to operate that hospital. The question is one of first
impression.
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