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Petitioners’ charitable contribution carryover deduction for 2002
is at issue.
Respondent’s Examination
Respondent sent two letters to petitioners requesting
information about their carryover deduction for charitable
contributions on their return for 2002, but petitioners failed to
respond. Instead, an employee of the trust received the letters
and filed them without bringing the letters to petitioners’
attention. Having received no response, respondent issued a
deficiency notice to petitioners in which he disallowed
petitioners’ charitable contribution deduction for 2002.
Respondent challenged the value of the conservation easements
that the trust donated as well as petitioners’ eligibility for
any deduction at all. Petitioners timely filed a petition.
The parties filed, and the Court granted, a joint motion to
sever the threshold issue of who is the proper party to claim the
charitable contribution from the valuation issue of the
conservation easements. Because we conclude that petitioners are
not the proper party to claim the charitable contribution
deduction, no trial will be necessary to determine the valuation
issue.
Discussion
We are asked to decide whether petitioners may deduct on
their individual joint return a charitable contribution the trust
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