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Decedent died on July 16, 1991, while domiciled in Gonzales,
Louisiana. Administratrix is his surviving spouse, and she is
the administratrix of his estate.2 At the time of Decedent's
death, he owned an undivided 50-percent community interest in
50,000 shares of Eatel voting stock. Eatel, which was formerly
Data and Telecommunications Co., Inc. (DATA),3 is a
telecommunications company that provides the following services
through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Telephone services,
telecommunications and electronic equipment sales, answering and
secretarial services, and administrative services. On the
Valuation Dates, Eatel’s wholly owned subsidiaries were:
(1) East Ascension Telephone Co., Inc., (2) H & E., Inc.,
(3) Advanced Tel., Inc., and (4) Eatelnet, Inc.
Eatel’s outstanding stock on the Valuation Dates consisted
of 868,200 shares of voting stock and 96,466 shares of nonvoting
2 We do not know where Administratrix resided at the time of
the petition.
3 The parties have not explained (and the record does not
reveal) whether the change from DATA to Eatel was merely one in
name, or whether it stemmed from a corporate acquisition or
reorganization. Although petitioner’s counsel stated during
trial that “The name [of DATA] was changed [to Eatel] as of
August 31, [1989],” there is no evidence in the record to support
that statement. See United States v. Kane, 887 F.2d 568, 572 n.5
(5th Cir. 1989) (statements by counsel are not evidence); U.S.
Holding Co. v. Commissioner, 44 T.C. 323, 327 (1965); Danco Co.
v. Commissioner, 17 T.C. 1493, 1497 (1952); Lyon v. Commissioner,
1 B.T.A. 378 (1925). Indeed, a valuation report that
petitioner’s expert prepared on DATA as of Aug. 31, 1989, appears
to disprove the statement of petitioner’s counsel. The expert’s
report refers to DATA as “DATA”, and it makes no reference to a
name change to Eatel.
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