Arguments
Crane argued that the "property" she acquired upon her husband's death was simply the equity in the land and building, which was the excess of the value of the land and building over the then-existing mortgage (i.e. the equity was zero based on the facts). As a result, she argued that the amount she realized on the sale of the building was her net cash received: $2,500.
The Commissioner of the IRS claimed that the property inherited by Crane was the building and land itself, not merely the equity in the building and land. This position had the merit of comporting with the facts at hand: prior to selling the property, Mrs. Crane had been allowed depreciation deductions in excess of $25,000 on the building. Correspondingly, the Commissioner argued that Crane, through the sale of the building and land, received an amount equal to the net of the cash received in addition to the amount of debt assumed by the purchaser.
Read more about this topic: Crane V. Commissioner
Famous quotes containing the word arguments:
“The second [of Zenos arguments about motion] is the one called Achilles. This is to the effect that the slowest as it runs will never be caught by the quickest. For the pursuer must first reach the point from which the pursued departed, so that the slower must always be some distance in front.”
—Zeno Of Elea (c. 490430 B.C.)
“The conclusion suggested by these arguments might be called the paradox of theorizing. It asserts that if the terms and the general principles of a scientific theory serve their purpose, i. e., if they establish the definite connections among observable phenomena, then they can be dispensed with since any chain of laws and interpretive statements establishing such a connection should then be replaceable by a law which directly links observational antecedents to observational consequents.”
—C.G. (Carl Gustav)
“It has often been argued that absolute scepticism is self-contradictory; but this is a mistake: and even if it were not so, it would be no argument against the absolute sceptic, inasmuch as he does not admit that no contradictory propositions are true. Indeed, it would be impossible to move such a man, for his scepticism consists in considering every argument and never deciding upon its validity; he would, therefore, act in this way in reference to the arguments brought against him.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (18391914)