- 42 -
payments to Drs. Caffaro and Murphy.32 We therefore conclude that
petitioner’s payments to Drs. Caffaro and Murphy in 1999 ($4,302)
do not qualify as alimony deductible in 1999.
The fact that the Superior Court subsequently credited (in
2001) the bulk of the Caffaro/Murphy payments ($4,188) to
petitioner’s family support arrearage does not help his case.
Petitioner apparently assumes that if the family support he paid
Carmen in 1999 pursuant to the 1999 order qualifies as deductible
alimony, then any other 1999 outlay credited in a later year
against his family support arrearage must be deductible in 1999 as
well. If that is his position,33 we are not aware of any authority
to support it. Cf. Eboli v. Commissioner, 93 T.C. 123, 131-132
(1989) (rejecting Commissioner’s argument that, because
overpayment credited in 1979 against cash basis taxpayer’s
liability for interest on 1970 deficiency was attributable to
payments made in 1975, such deficiency interest was properly
deductible in 1975).
3. Conclusion
We hold petitioner is not entitled to any alimony deduction
for 1999 in respect of his payments to Drs. Caffaro and Murphy.
32 Furthermore, the parties’ stipulations do not indicate
that petitioner made the October 1999 payment to Dr. Caffaro
($114) on Carmen’s behalf. See sec. 71(b)(1)(A).
33 Despite having effectively put the issue in play, see
supra pp. 40-41, petitioner did not separately address on brief
the deductibility of the Caffaro/Murphy payments credited to his
arrearage.
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