What are the Committee Reports to which the USSC

Reread the USSC opinion in the case of Dickman v. Commissioner, 465 U.S. 330 (1980). The edited opinion can be found beginning on page 48 of the text. You can find (but do not need to find) the full opinion on any publisher's site. Directions to RIA and CCH can be found in the "Other Documents" area if you want to read the full opinion. Comment on the following:

1. What are the Committee Reports to which the USSC refers and why are they important?

2. Are you persuaded by the Court's analogy to rent-free use of property and the quoted passage from the Passailaigue court? Explain.

3. What is your opinion of the taxpayer's argument on page 52 that a taxpayer cannot be forced into making an asset productive?

4. Are you persuaded by the Court's response to this argument in 3. above?

5. What is your opinion of the Court's dismissal of the administrative problems pointed to by the taxpayer regarding gifts like this? Specifically, do you agree with the Court's dismissal of the problem that now the IRS will have to treat all unproductive property use as a gift?

6. Finally, what is the effect of Section 7872 as it relates to the Dickman opinion?