- 102 - driven by a tax motive, the Supreme Court held that the reorganization in question was a sham in large part because the transaction had no business or corporate purpose. See Gregory v. Helvering, supra at 469. The Supreme Court's reliance on the lack of a business or corporate purpose for the transaction is notable in that the corporate reorganization provision in question did not explicitly require a business purpose--the Supreme Court concluded that a business or corporate purpose was implied in the provision. See id. at 469; see also Yosha v. Commissioner, 861 F.2d 494, 499 (7th Cir. 1988) (quoting Commissioner v. Transport Trading & Terminal Corp., 176 F.2d 570, 572 (2d Cir. 1949)). Nor does Horn v. Commissioner, supra, support petitioner's position that the economic substance doctrine is only relevant where the controlling statutory provision by its terms requires a business purpose and a reasonable prospect of a profit. Although the Court of Appeals in Horn v. Commissioner, supra, concluded that it would be premature to proceed with an economic substance analysis without first examining the controlling statutory provision and its legislative history, the relevant inquiry is not whether business purpose or the prospect of a profit are required elements under the controlling provision, but rather whether Congress enacted the provision with the intention of sanctioning a particular transaction regardless of its economicPage: Previous 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 Next
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