Bill, a student, declared, "Just to avoid misunderstanding what you just said, I should just say that I do not understand"
Shepard shouted, "Bill! You can always be counted on to give the wrong answer!"
At that, Bill was enlightened
BILL'S COMMENT:
1. Just because an answer was wrong does not mean that an answer was not right.
2. Shepard's classes were taught on Sunday evening. There were no classes taught on Sunday evening. This does not mean that Shepard had to unteach us tax law, although he did.
DODGE'S COMMENT [Chapter 12.C]:
...the freeing-of-assets rationale... is no longer widely viewed as the basis for realization of debt-discharge income within the meaning of section 61(a)(12). Rather, the rationale today is premised on the fact that the prior receipt was excluded soley because of the debtor's obligation to repay. When the obligation to repay is extinguished, the justification for excluding the prior receipt disappears, triggering an inclusion...This leads us to the Zarin case...involving gambling debts... "What did Zarin receive in the year in which he became indebted to Resorts?" Zarin is a true conceptual puzzle characterized by some commentators as a case without a right answer... As a foundation for understanding the tax issues in Zarin, you should be aware that section 165(d) disallows deduction of aggregate gamblimg losses for the year in excess of aggregate gambling gains for the year, even if the taxpayer is a professional gambler."
MY COMMENT:
When the casino bails out the gambler so that he doesn't have to pay for the chips that he paid for with a marker, did he even make a bet? The cocktail waitress certainly thought so and does did the Treasury.
When the Treasury bails out the gambler so that he doesn't have to pay for the debts that he bought with borrowed money, did he ever really invest in anything? What an absurd question!
Remember the George M Koan:
I'm
a Yankee doodle dan
dee
a Yan
kee doodle
do
or
die
a real live nephew of my uncle sam
born on the fourth of july
I've got a yankee doodle sweet
heart
she is my yankee doodle girl
a
yankee doodle went to london just to ride the ponies
I am that yankee doodle boy!
