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taxpayer obeyed the regulation, waited until the event occurred,
and sought the promised relief at an appropriate time in the
instant Tax Court proceeding.
In United States v. Olympic Radio & Television, 349 U.S.
232, 236 (1955), the Supreme Court directed that “We can only
take the Code as we find it and give it as great an internal
symmetry and consistency as its words permit.” Thus, if the
phrase “tax required to be shown on a return” were to be
interpreted in a temporal sense in section 6663(a), then it ought
to have the same meaning wherever it appears. This means that it
would have the same meaning where it appears in section 6662(a),
and would have the same impact on those of the section 6662
additions that apply to the estate tax.
Respondent’s contentions in the instant case might well lead
prudent executors to load up estate tax returns with speculative
deductions in order to satisfy this newly proclaimed requirement,
that only items claimed on the estate tax return may be taken
into account in determining the base for additions to tax under
sections 6662 and 6663.
Thus, respondent’s contentions in the instant case appear to
conflict with Treasury regulations and may well complicate the
practical administration of the estate tax laws.
II. Legislative History
The majority opinion explains that the phrase “tax required
to be shown on a return” has a clear classification meaning in
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