Stanley T. Johnson Constance Johnson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

ALARCÓN, Circuit Judge.

Stanley T. Johnson and his present wife, Constance Johnson (“Appellants”), appeal from the United States Tax Court’s decision that there is a deficiency in income tax due from them for the taxable year 1997. The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 7482. The gravamen of Appellants’ argument is that Internal Revenue Code (“I.R.C.”) § 71, as amended in 1984 (“new § 71” or the “new law”), should apply to Mr. Johnson’s deduction for alimony in the 1997 tax year, rather than the version of I.R.C. § 71 that existed prior to the amendment (“old § 71” or the “old…