-177-
caselaw leads to the opposite conclusion. Ft. Pitt Brewing Co.
v. Commissioner, 210 F.2d 6, 10-11 (3d Cir. 1954), affg. 20 T.C.
1 (1953); Russell v. Commissioner, 45 F. 2d 100, 101 (1st Cir.
1930) (“An arbitrary adoption of a substitute method of computing
a tax, which does not in fact ‘clearly reflect the income’ of the
taxpayers, cannot be sustained. The commissioner’s discretion
must be exercised reasonably, on sound grounds.” (Citation
omitted.)), revg. 12 B.T.A. 56 (1928); see also Harden v.
Commissioner, supra at 421; Prabel v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. at
1112; Golden Gate Litho v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-184.
Compare Helvering v. Taylor, 293 U.S. 507, 514 (1935), where the
Supreme Court stated:
We find nothing in the statutes, the rules of the
board or our decisions that gives any support to the
idea that the commissioner’s determination shown to be
without rational foundation and excessive, will be
enforced unless the taxpayer proves he owes nothing or,
if liable at all, shows the correct amount. * * *
Contrary to respondent’s belief, that line of cases firmly
establishes that courts do not simply sustain the Commissioner’s
change of a taxpayer’s accounting method merely because the
taxpayer’s method was found to be erroneous.
When a taxpayer challenges the Commissioner’s authority
under section 446(b), we inquire whether the accounting method in
58(...continued)
v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. 204, 210 (1991) (and cases cited
thereat); Prabel v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. 1101, 1112 (1988) (and
cases cited thereat), affd. 882 F.2d 820 (3d Cir. 1989)
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