Richard D. Warren and Elizabeth K. - Page 13




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               If we adopt respondent’s position, ministers eligible for an           
          exclusion under section 107(2) will face a compliance burden not            
          imposed on ministers eligible under section 107(1).  Under                  
          respondent’s position, ministers who receive a rental allowance             
          could be required to obtain an estimate of the rental value of              
          their home every year in order to know how much to exclude under            
          section 107(2).  This burden is not imposed on ministers for whom           
          homes are provided, the rental value of which is excludable under           
          section 107(1), because they may simply exclude the value of the            
          home without any need to estimate the rental value.  In the                 
          instant case, the parties stipulated the rental value for each              
          year.  However, the burden of obtaining valuation estimates could           
          become onerous where rental value is in dispute.  We decline to             
          endorse this disparate treatment here by imposing potentially               
          burdensome valuation obligations where neither the statute nor              
          the legislative history so requires.                                        
               There may be concern that, under section 107(2), a minister            
          might exclude from income the cost of an expensive home.                    
          However, respondent does not contend that petitioner’s home was             
          improperly expensive.  In any event, a more expensive home                  
          presumably would have a greater rental value which presumably               
          would be excludable under respondent’s approach.  There may also            
          be concern that a minister with additional income from another              
          source could spend more for housing, and thus have a larger                 






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