Lee B. Arberg and Melissa A. Quinn - Page 29




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          Memo. 2005-167; Chen v. Commissioner, supra.  Ordinary losses are           
          thereby made available to offset ordinary income and are not                
          subject to the $3,000 (or $1,500) limitation imposed by section             
          1211(b) on the deduction by an individual of capital losses in              
          excess of capital gains.  E.g., Vines v. Commissioner, supra at             
          288; Knish v. Commissioner, supra; Lehrer v. Commissioner, supra;           
          Chen v. Commissioner, supra.                                                
               C.  Attribution of E Trade Transactions                                
               The doctrine of the duty of consistency, also known as                 
          “quasi-estoppel” is among the equitable principles applicable in            
          this Court.  E.g., Herrington v. Commissioner, 854 F.2d 755, 757            
          (5th Cir. 1988), affg. Glass v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 1087                  
          (1986); Cluck v. Commissioner, 105 T.C. at 331; LeFever v.                  
          Commissioner, 103 T.C. at 541; Janis v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.            
          2004-117.  The doctrine, derived from R.H. Stearns Co. v. United            
          States, 291 U.S. 54 (1934), rests upon the premise that a                   
          taxpayer has a duty to be consistent in the tax treatment of                
          items and will not be permitted to benefit from the taxpayer’s              
          own prior error or omission.  E.g., Herrington v. Commissioner,             
          supra at 757; Shook v. United States, 713 F.2d 662, 666-667 (11th           
          Cir. 1983); Beltzer v. United States, 495 F.2d 211, 212 (8th Cir.           
          1974); Estate of Letts v. Commissioner, 109 T.C. 290, 296 (1997),           
          affd. without published opinion 212 F.3d 600 (11th Cir. 2000);              








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