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of determining the amount of the numerator in the 25-percent
calculation. Neither side cites Colony, Inc., and neither side
points to any aspect of the legislative history that may shed
light on the meaning that the Congress intended to give to the
statutory term “the return.”
IV. Evolution of the Caselaw
In Masterson v. Commissioner, 1 T.C. 315 (1942), revd. on
another issue 141 F.2d 391 (5th Cir. 1944), the taxpayer had
filed two 1935 income tax returns on the same day, one for
herself and the other signed by her “individually, and as
independent executrix of the Estate of” her late husband. See
id. at 322-323. Each of these tax returns referred to the other.
See id. at 323. The Commissioner determined that the taxpayer
should have reported on her individual tax return the corrected
net income of the estate. See id. at 323. The notice of
deficiency was issued more than 3 years, but less than 5 years,
after the due date of the taxpayer’s tax return. We held that
the two tax returns would not be treated together as “the return”
within the meaning of section 275(c) of the Revenue Act of 1934.
See id. at 324. We said that the statute would not be construed
to permit such combining because (1) the tax returns were of
different taxpayers and (2) the estate’s income tax return was of
a different type of taxpayer and it might be that the “facts
necessary to a correct determination of the tax due would not
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