- 25 -- 25 -
IV. Conclusion
Congress enacted the TEFRA partnership provisions to
separate the determination of partnership items from the
determination of nonpartnership items. Nevertheless, it bears
remembering that the partnership pays no tax, and it is the
partners’ tax liabilities that are at stake. The partners are
obligated to pay the correct tax and are entitled to contest any
computational adjustment requiring partner-level determinations
in this Court. Without a clear indication of congressional
purpose, we should not construe the statute so as to allow the
partners to avoid a computational adjustment that ultimately may
prove to be justified on the merits. I would overrule Maxwell v.
Commissioner, 87 T.C. 783 (1986), and the cases that have
followed it, to the extent that they hold that we lack subject
matter jurisdiction to redetermine a deficiency in tax
attributable to affected items until the related partnership
proceeding (if any) is completed.
WHALEN and BEGHE, JJ., agree with this dissent.
Page: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Last modified: May 25, 2011