Pope & Talbot, Inc., and Subsidiaries v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Opinion by Judge THOMPSON; Dissent by Judge NOONAN.

DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge;

The taxpayer Pope & Talbot, Inc. (“Pope & Talbot”) appeals the tax court’s decision under 26 U.S.C. § 311(d)(1) determining the gain Pope & Talbot was required to recognize when it distributed appreciated property to a limited partnership, which in turn distributed limited partnership interests to the Pope & Talbot shareholders. The tax court calculated the fair market value of the distributed property by determining what a willing buyer would have paid a willing seller in a hypothetical sale of the property…