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savings and loan charters in order to be acquired by Barnett
Bank. Respondent interprets the language of section 7701(a)(19)
and of section 301.7701-13A(a), Proced. & Admin. Regs., to
preclude use of section 593 by any entity chartered as a bank.
Respondent relies on legislative history emphasizing the
historically different tax treatment afforded to banks, on the
one hand, and to savings and loan associations, on the other.
Petitioner contends that the language of the applicable
statutes allows for use of the reserve method of accounting under
former section 593 by any association actually functioning as a
savings and loan. Petitioner asserts that Southwest and Pinellas
functioned the same before and after the change in their
charters. Petitioner argues that precedents in the subject areas
repeatedly apply substance over form analysis, even when a
taxpayer is attempting to repudiate the form that the taxpayer
has chosen. Thus, petitioner concludes, the position taken by
respondent as to the conclusiveness of the charter should be
rejected.
Addressing first the language of section 7701(a)(19) and the
related regulation, a straightforward interpretation is that a
domestic building and loan association qualifies for the reserve
method of accounting under section 593 if it meets three tests--
the supervisory test, the business operations test, and the asset
tests set forth in section 7701(a)(19). Petitioner, however,
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