- 5 - received by him in 1988 nontaxable in that year or excuses his failure to file a return and report those proceeds for that year. Section 61(a) states: “Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, gross income means all income from whatever source derived”. The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the “sweeping scope” of section 61(a) and its statutory predecessors. See Commissioner v. Schleier, 515 U.S. ___, 115 S. Ct. 2159, 2163 (1995); Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass Co., 348 U.S. 426, 429 (1955). In Schleier, the Supreme Court stated: “We have also emphasized the corollary to section 61(a)’s broad construction, namely the <default rule of statutory interpretation that exclusions from income must be narrowly construed.’” Commissioner v. Schleier, 515 U.S. at ___ (quoting United States v. Burke, 504 U.S. 229, 248 (1992) (Souter, J., concurring in judgment)). Petitioner has not, in this case, identified any specific ground that entitles him to exclude the funds he received from taxable income. Petitioner’s position is based primarily on the ongoing litigation and secondarily on the misplaced argument that the payments he received in 1988 were somehow attributable to an earlier year. Whether they were paid as a result of the 1984 ruling of the Superior Court or the 1988 settlement agreement, the proceeds received by petitioner were undoubtedly received by him in 1988 pursuant to a “claim of right” against Wright. Where, as here, aPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
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