Ames v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
112 T.C. 304 (1999)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
In 1985, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) promised to make substantial illegal payments to Aldrich Ames (plaintiff), a United States citizen and federal employee. In return, Ames would spy on the United States and hand over secret government documents to the USSR. The payments were to be made covertly and placed in secret locations where Ames could retrieve them illegally. The USSR made the promised illegal payments to Ames between 1989 and 1992. Ames did not report or pay federal income tax on the payments. In 1994, the United States government imprisoned Ames for spying and tax fraud. The commissioner of internal revenue (commissioner) (defendant) determined deficiencies in Ames’s taxes for 1989 through 1992. Ames, who routinely reported his legal income on the cash method of accounting, claimed that he constructively received the illegal payments when they were promised to him in 1985. Ames petitioned the tax court for a redetermination, arguing that the payments should be attributed to his taxable 1985 income, not his taxable 1989-1992 income.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Gerber, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 810,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
