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Section 2033 provides: “The value of the gross estate shall
include the value of all property to the extent of the interest
therein of the decedent at the time of his death.” See also sec.
20.2033-1(a), Estate Tax Regs. (“The gross estate of a decedent
* * * includes under section 2033 the value of all property,
whether real or personal, * * * beneficially owned by the
decedent at the time of his death.”). As a general rule, the
Commissioner’s determinations in the notice of deficiency are
presumed correct, and the burden of proving an error is on the
taxpayer. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115
(1933).6
The estate argues that substance should prevail over form;
contending that bare legal title does not establish ownership and
that the Court must examine the intent of the parties as well as
their conduct to decide that a partnership owned the property.
In some circumstances, a taxpayer may rely on substance over
form. Helvering v. F.& R. Lazarus & Co., 308 U.S. 252 (1939).
The taxpayer, however, “must provide objective evidence that the
substance of the transaction was in accord with the position
argued by * * * [the taxpayer] rather than the form set forth by
all the relevant documents.” Groetzinger v. Commissioner, 87
T.C. 533, 541 (1986) (emphasis added). The Court will not
6 The estate does not argue that the burden of proof should
be on respondent pursuant to sec. 7491(a).
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Last modified: May 25, 2011