jSamuel Jacobson - Page 9




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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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