Estate of Duane B. Farnam, Deceased, Mark D. Farnam, Personal Representative, and Estate of Lois L. Farnam, Deceased, Mark D. Farnam, Personal Representative - Page 8




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          statute is ambiguous, as section 2057 clearly is, we look to the            
          statute’s legislative history and other authorities for                     
          assistance in determining legislative intent.  Burlington N. R.R.           
          v. Okla. Tax Commn., 481 U.S. 454, 461 (1987); Fernandez v.                 
          Commissioner, supra at 329-330.                                             
               Section 2057(a) allows an estate tax deduction from the                
          value of a gross estate of up to $675,000 for the value of QFOBIs           
          a decedent owned at the time of death.3                                     
               Section 2057(a) provides in part as follows:                           

               SEC. 2057.  FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS INTERESTS.                           
                    (a) General Rule.--                                               
                         (1) Allowance of deduction.--For purposes of                 
                    the tax imposed by section 2001, in the case of an                
                    estate of a decedent to which this section                        
                    applies, the value of the taxable estate shall be                 
                    determined by deducting from the value of the                     
                    gross estate the adjusted value of the qualified                  
                    family-owned business interests of the decedent                   
                    which are described in subsection (b)(2).                         

               3 The qualified family-owned business interest (QFOBI)                 
          allowance was first enacted in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997,             
          Pub. L. 105-34, sec. 502, 111 Stat. 847, as a tax exclusion under           
          sec. 2033A.  In 1998, the QFOBI provision was moved to sec. 2057            
          and was converted from a tax exclusion to a tax deduction.                  
          Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998,              
          Pub. L. 105-206, sec. 6007(b), 112 Stat. 807.  Notwithstanding              
          this conversion from an exclusion to a deduction, sec. 2057 is              
          substantially the same as former sec. 2033A.  The Economic Growth           
          and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107-16, sec.             
          521(d), 115 Stat. 72, repealed sec. 2057 for estates of decedents           
          dying after Dec. 31, 2003.  In the absence of intervening estate            
          tax legislation, sec. 2057 is scheduled to be reinstated for                
          estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2010.  Id. sec. 901(a)            
          and (b), 115 Stat. 150.                                                     






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