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statute.6 TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153 (1978); United States v.
American Trucking Associations, 310 U.S. 534, 543-544 (1940). As
the United States Supreme Court has said:
canons of construction are no more than rules of thumb
that help courts determine the meaning of legislation,
and in interpreting a statute a court should always
turn first to one, cardinal canon before all others.
We have stated time and time again that courts must
presume that a legislature says in a statute what it
means and means in a statute what it says there. * * *
When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, this
first canon is also the last: judicial inquiry is
complete. [Connecticut Natl. Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S.
249, 253-254 (1992); citations and quotation marks
omitted.]
Although a plain reading of the statute is ordinarily
conclusive, I recognize that a clear legislative intent that is
contrary to the text may sometimes lead to a different result.
6 Indeed, the Commissioner has done just that with respect
to the term “properly allocable”. The Commissioner prescribed
sec. 1.163-8T, Temporary Income Tax Regs., to determine the
amount of interest that is properly allocable to a trade or
business. Sec. 1.163-9T(b)(1)(i), Temporary Income Tax Regs.,
52 Fed. Reg. 48409 (Dec. 22, 1987). Sec. 1.163-8T(a)(3),
(4)(i)(A), (b)(7), and (c)(3)(ii), Temporary Income Tax Regs.,
52 Fed. Reg. 24999-25001 (July 2, 1987), provides that interest
is properly allocable to a trade or business to the extent that
the proceeds of the underlying debt are traceable to an
"expenditure * * * in connection with the conduct of any trade or
business". But for sec. 1.163-9T(b)(2)(i)(A), Temporary Income
Tax Regs., 52 Fed. Reg. 48409 (Dec. 22, 1987) there should be no
dispute that petitioners may deduct their deficiency interest
because the interest is connected to the Federal income taxes
that they must pay on their business income. Fort Howard Corp.
and Subs. v. Commissioner, 103 T.C. 345, 352 (1994) (an expense
is incurred "in connection with" the conduct of a trade or
business if it is associated with or logically related); Polk v.
Commissioner, 31 T.C. 412, 415 (1958) (deficiency interest
deductible as a business expense because the deficiency "arose in
connection with * * * [the taxpayer's] business, and was
proximately related thereto, and that the same must be said of
the interest paid thereon"), affd. 276 F.2d 601 (10th Cir. 1960);
see also Reise v. Commissioner, 35 T.C. 571 (1961), and the cases
cited therein, affd. 299 F.2d 380 (7th Cir. 1962).
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