Norwest Corporation and Subsidiaries - Page 62

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               We acknowledge that due to the Brazilian debt crisis,                  
          petitioner had limited options with regard to its blocked                   
          deposits.  However, once petitioner decided to engage in a debt-            
          equity transaction, it was free to use its blocked deposits to              
          invest in any Brazilian company. Moreover, the value of the                 
          cruzados here was enhanced because petitioner's investment was              
          made at the official exchange rate, entitling it to the benefits            
          of registered foreign capital.  In sum, as in G.M. Trading, we              
          hold that the restriction on use of the cruzados herein does not            
          require a discount.                                                         
               The second restriction involved the 12-year repatriation               
          restriction. It is clear from the record before us that this                
          restriction was a preexisting limitation, as articulated in                 
          Central Bank Circular 1.492 and the 1986 DFA.  It was not a result          
          of negotiations or bargaining by the parties. The restriction               
          reduced the value of petitioner's property right by prohibiting             
          petitioner from repatriating its capital for 12 years.  Despite             
          the manner in which petitioner arranged the transaction (with the           
          creation of MOIL and MRC), we believe that the 12-year restriction          
          warrants a discount on the fair market value of the cruzados                
          petitioner received, reflecting the preexisting restriction.  See,          
          e.g., Landau v. Commissioner, 7 T.C. 12, 16 (1946) (the Court               
          imposed a discount on the value of South African pounds,                    








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