Internal Revenue Code Sections 1311-1314: Resurrection of the Tax Year 11 Gonazaga Law Review 1975-1976

11 Gonz. L. Rev. 457 (1975-1976)
Internal Revenue Code Sections 1311-1314: Resurrection of the Tax Year

handle is hein.journals/gonlr11 and id is 487 raw text is: INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTIONS
1311-1314: RESURRECTION OF THE TAX
YEAR
John E. Scheifly*
I. INTRODUCTION
Because taxation of income in the United States is based
on an annual accounting concept, problems often arise when
the taxpayer and the Government quarrel over the proper year
in which a deduction may be claimed or in which income
should be included for tax purposes.
Even though both sides may recognize that a deduction is
proper, or that an item is includable as income, the further
question of in what taxable year the deduction should be taken
or the item included can be crucial. If, for example, the tax-
payer chooses the wrong year in which to claim an otherwise
proper deduction, he may find to his chagrin that the right year
for deduction purposes is beyond the normal 3-year statute of
limitations for claiming a refund. Similarly, the Government
and the taxpayer may agree that an item is includable in in-
come and taxable as such, but disagree as to when it should
be recognized. By the time finality as to the proper treatment
is achieved, the right year could be barred by the normal 3-
year statute of limitations for deficiency purposes. Or, to the
further financial embarrassment of the taxpayer, he may find
the same item of income included twice: in the year he reported
the item and again in the year it is finally determined the item
should have been reported. And the normal statute of limita-
tions may bar him from claiming a refund of the tax because
of the double inclusion.
To alleviate the hardship to a taxpayer when the normal
statute of limitations would deny the opportunity of rehabilita-
tion because of an error in choosing the approximate year of
reporting a tax event, Congress enacted sections 1311-1314 of
* Sc. B., Brown University, 1945; J.D., Washington and Lee University, 1948.
Member, California Bar. Partner, Willis, Butler & Scheifly, Los Angeles, California;
Section Director, American Bar Association Section on Taxation.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.

Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

What Is HeinOnline?

Purchase Access

Contact Us

Log In

NEED HELP?

CONTACT US

Get started

Subscribe to our Newsletter