Bill L. and Patricia M. Spencer - Page 52

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          increase in value should have no impact on depreciation, provided           
          that the original determination was reasonable.  Id. at 276-278.            
               Fribourg did not contemplate the effect of an adjustment to            
          the original depreciable basis on the annual straight line                  
          depreciation allowance.  Additionally, Fribourg did not consider            
          whether the adjusted depreciable basis should be further adjusted           
          by previously allowed depreciation in order to arrive at the                
          proper remaining basis for depreciation.  Rather, Fribourg                  
          addressed the impact of fluctuations in the market value                    
          subsequent to the original determination of salvage value.                  
               We conclude that respondent's method of calculating the                
          allowable amortization deduction would neither contravene the               
          annual accounting concept nor disregard the statute of                      
          limitations.  Federal income taxes are generally assessed on the            
          basis of annual returns showing the net result of all the                   
          taxpayer's transactions during a fixed accounting period.  Burnet           
          v. Sanford & Brooks Co., 282 U.S. at 363.  Although each year               
          stands separately, and an error made in computation of the tax              
          for one year cannot be corrected by making an erroneous                     
          computation under the law of a later year, Greene Motor Co. v.              
          Commissioner, 5 T.C. 314, 316 (1945); MacMillan Co. v.                      
          Commissioner, 4 B.T.A. 251, 253 (1926), the annual accounting               
          concept does not require us to close our eyes to what happened in           
          prior years, United States v. Skelly Oil Co., 394 U.S. 678, 684             





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