11
The characterization of a payment for purposes of section
162(f) depends on the origin of the liability giving rise to it.
Bailey v. Commissioner, 756 F.2d 44, 47 (6th Cir. 1985); Middle
Atl. Distribs. v. Commissioner, 72 T.C. 1136, 1144-1145 (1979).
Each party provided an expert witness to assist the Court in
understanding the workings of the North Carolina Department of
Agriculture and the administration of the North Carolina
commercial fertilizer law.
Petitioner's expert witness, James R. Stevens (Stevens),
developed his expertise during his 41 years of service with the
North Carolina Department of Agriculture. He began his career in
1950 as a temporary fertilizer inspector. He was promoted to
chief fertilizer inspector in 1955 and promoted to feed,
fertilizer, and pesticide inspector supervisor in 1965. In 1974,
Stevens was promoted to fertilizer administrator, and he remained
in that position until his retirement in December 1991. Stevens
currently works as a consultant to the fertilizer industry.
Respondent's expert witness, Peter T. Hight (Hight),
received a bachelor of science degree in horticulture in 1979 and
a master's degree in crop science in 1986, both from North
Carolina State University. Hight has worked in an agriculture-
related field since 1980. From March 1980 through 1987, Hight
served as an agriculture extension agent, conducting numerous
field investigations on plant disease and plant nutritional and
insect problems. From January 1988 through October 1991, Hight
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