- 9 -
reduction of the taxpayer's income tax"). See generally Bittker
& McMahon, Federal Income Taxation of Individuals, par. 28.2,
at 28-2 (2d ed. 1995) (the word "recognized" means "taken into
account in computing taxable income").3
Neither party references the legislative history of section
83(h), and we do not resort to it to alter the plain meaning of
the words used in the statute. A statute speaks for itself, and
its legislative history is sought to clarify the text only when
the meaning of the words therein is "inescapably ambiguous".
Garcia v. United States, 469 U.S. 70, 76 n.3 (1984); see also
Ex parte Collett, 337 U.S. 55 (1949). When read in view of the
3 We also note that the drafters of section 83 knew the
difference between the suffixes "-able" and "-ible", on the one
hand, and "-ed" on the other. Section 83 includes both
"transferable" and "transferred" in many places, and it is clear
that those words are not interchangeable. Moreover, sec. 83 was
added to the Code by sec. 321(a) of the Tax Reform Act of 1969
(the Act), Pub. L. 91-172, 83 Stat. 588, and sec. 321(b)(3) of
the Act, 83 Stat. 591, which provides similar but not identical
rules for nonexempt trusts and nonqualified annuities, amended
sec. 404(a)(5) to provide for deductibility "in the taxable year
in which an amount attributable to the contribution is includible
in the gross income". (Emphasis added.) When we find, as we do
here, that different words are used in the same section of the
same act, we do not impute to Congress the intent to express the
same meaning through the different words. See United States v.
Olympic Radio & Television, 349 U.S. 232 (1955); Estate of
Cuddihy v. Commissioner, 32 T.C. 1171, 1176 (1959); Root Glass
Co. v. Commissioner, 1 T.C. 475, 477 (1943). "[L]egal documents
are for the most part nonemotive, [and] it is presumed that the
author's language has been used, not for its artistic or
emotional effect, but for its ability to convey ideas.
Accordingly, it is presumed that the author has not varied his
terminology unless he has changed his meaning, and has not
changed his meaning unless he has varied his terminology".
Zuanich v. Commissioner, 77 T.C. 428, 443 n.26 (1981) (quoting R.
Dickerson, The Interpretation and Application of Statutes 224
(1975)).
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