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petitioner was unable to remember when he purchased the
contributed property, how much he paid for it, and when he
donated it. Petitioner’s recollection of the amounts paid was
vague and unreliable. He claimed on his return that he purchased
the Kesslers in 1976, but he testified at trial that the correct
year was 1981. He asserted in responses to interrogatories that
he had purchased property 20 or 30 years earlier. An employee of
the bakery testified that the boxes were in the warehouse for “at
least 16 years”.
Malina prepared an expert report for trial that purportedly
valued the contributed property, and petitioner relies on this
report and his own personal experience in valuing the contributed
property. Respondent relies on the expert report of Paul T.
Schmid (Schmid) to support the fair market values determined in
the notice of deficiency.
Opinion testimony of an expert is admissible if and because
it will assist the trier of fact to understand evidence that will
determine a fact in issue. See Fed. R. Evid. 702. We evaluate
the opinions of experts in light of the demonstrated
qualifications of each expert and all other evidence in the
record. See Parker v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 547, 561 (1986). We
are not bound by the opinion of an expert witness, especially
when such opinion is contrary to our conclusions. See IT&S of
Iowa, Inc. v. Commissioner, 97 T.C. 496, 508 (1991). If experts
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