Section 351 in Acquisitive Reorganizations: Cutting the Giant Down to Size
Abstract
Several years ago, section 351 was deemed the sleeping giant of Subchapter C when the IRS seemingly legitimized use of that section in acquisitive reorganizations to achieve tax-free treatment from some parties in an otherwise taxable transaction. However, in 1980, in a direct about-face, the IRS came to view the section 351 ex- change and the acquisitive segment as integral steps of a taxable reorganization. As a result, all parties to the transaction were forced to recognize gain. Instead of the tortured construction of section 351 advanced by the IRS, the author contends that interdependence should not be imposed where those steps taken serve one or more parties' specific needs which would not be satisfied by recharacterizing the transaction, Alternatively, the author suggests that section 269 is ideally suited to remedy abuses of section 351, while properly acknowledging the separate and independent significance of each segment of the transaction.
Keywords
IRC 351
Publication Date
1982
Document Type
Article
Place of Original Publication
Case Western Reserve Law Review
Publication Information
32 Case Western Reserve Law Review 857 (1982)
Repository Citation
Gabinet, Leon, "Section 351 in Acquisitive Reorganizations: Cutting the Giant Down to Size" (1982). Faculty Publications. 1106.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/1106