Messner v. Dorgan

VOGEL, Judge.

The appellants, Theodore and Margaret Messner, are husband and wife. Since their marriage in 1935, they have purchased 800 acres of farmland. The land is held in joint tenancy and was farmed by them during the year 1970.

In 1971, they filed a joint Federal income tax return for the 1970 tax year. In the return they listed net farm income of slightly more than $12,000 and income from interest on joint savings investments of slightly more than $1,000. For the same year they filed separate State income tax returns, dividing the income shown on the Federal return between them.

As part…