Bank One Corporation - Page 124

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          938, 956 (1982) (hypothetical sale should not be constructed in a           
          vacuum isolated from the actual facts that affect value).  The              
          Board stated that the fair market value of an item is determined            
          from a hypothetical transaction between a “hypothetical willing             
          seller and buyer, who are by judicial decree always dickering for           
          price in the light of all the facts, [and] can not be credited              
          with knowing what the future will yield.”  Natl. Water Main                 
          Cleaning Co. v. Commissioner, supra at 239; accord Estate of                
          Watts v. Commissioner, 823 F.2d 483, 486 (11th Cir. 1987) (the              
          hypothetical buyer and the hypothetical seller each seek to                 
          maximize his or her profit from any transaction involving the               
          property), affg. T.C. Memo. 1985-595; Estate of Curry v. United             
          States, 706 F.2d 1424, 1428 (7th Cir. 1983) (hypothetical willing           
          buyer and the hypothetical willing seller are presumed to be                
          dedicated to achieving the maximum economic advantage).                     
               In 1936, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified as to the                    
          definition of fair market value that fair market value is                   
          determined by viewing the item under consideration on the basis             
          of its best use.65  St. Joseph Stock Yards Co. v. United States,            
          298 U.S. 38, 60 (1936).  There, the Court held that two adjacent            
          pieces of land should be valued the same per square foot                    



          65 The notion of “highest and best use” was later recognized                
          by Congress as a requirement of fair market value.  H. Conf.                
          Rept. 94-1380, at 5 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 735, 741.                  




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