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Prior to 1984, under section 71, only payments that were in
the nature of alimony or support, as opposed to a property
settlement, would be treated as alimony for Federal income tax
purposes. Hoover v. Commissioner, 102 F.3d. 842, 844-845 (6th
Cir. 1996), affg. T.C. Memo. 1995-183. The labels assigned to
payments were not determinative in deciding whether a payment
constituted alimony or a division of property. Hesse v.
Commissioner, 60 T.C. 685, 691 (1973), affd. without published
opinion 511 F.2d 1393 (3d Cir. 1975); Poole v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1998-147. Instead, "Whether payments represented support
or property settlement was a question of intent." Hoover v.
Commissioner, supra at 845. To determine the parties' intent,
the courts examined various factors, which made the
alimony/nonalimony determination subjective. Id.
In the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98-369, sec.
422(a), 98 Stat. 494, 795, Congress amended section 71. The
purpose behind the amendment was to "eliminate the subjective
inquiries into intent and the nature of payments that had plagued
the courts in favor of a simpler, more objective test". Hoover
v. Commissioner, supra at 845. In Nelson v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1998-268, under section 71 as amended, the Court agreed
with the statement that if "the payments fit within the
definition of alimony for Federal income tax purposes, the
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