As reported on March 8, 2017, the U.S. Tax Court issued a taxpayer-friendly decision in Estate of George H. Bartell, et. al. v. Commissioner, 147 TC 5 (June 10, 2016). The ruling seemed too good to be true. I advised readers to proceed with caution!
Many taxpayers, exchange accommodators, and real estate professionals have been touting the ruling as a clear green light for reverse parking exchanges exceeding the 180-day period pronounced in Revenue Procedure 2000-37 despite the facts that:
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- Judge Gale of the U.S. Tax Court clearly said in the opinion that the court was not giving any opinion with respect to reverse exchanges that exceed the 180-day safe harbor; and
- The Bartell case involved transactions that pre-dated the effective date of Revenue Procedure 2000-37 and Treasury’s issuance of the deferred exchange regulations.
Larry J. Brant
Editor
Larry J. Brant is a Shareholder and the Chair of the Tax & Benefits practice group at Foster Garvey, a law firm based out of the Pacific Northwest, with offices in Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York, Spokane, Washington; and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Brant is licensed to practice in Oregon and Washington. His practice focuses on tax, tax controversy and business transactions. Mr. Brant is a past Chair of the Oregon State Bar Taxation Section. He was the long-term Chair of the Oregon Tax Institute, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Portland Tax Forum. Mr. Brant has served as an adjunct professor, teaching corporate taxation, at Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College. He is a frequent lecturer at local, regional and national tax and business conferences for CPAs and attorneys. Mr. Brant is an Expert Contributor to Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Catalyst. He is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel. Mr. Brant publishes articles on numerous income tax issues, including Taxation of S corporations, Taxation of C corporations, Reasonable Compensation, Circular 230, Worker Classification, IRC Section 1031 Exchanges, Choice of Entity, Entity Tax Classification, and State and Local Taxation. Since 2019, he has been a multiple-time honoree of the JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards for Tax, recognizing him as a Top Author for thought leadership and reader engagement on its platform. Mr. Brant was the 2015 Recipient of the Oregon State Bar Tax Section Award of Merit.


