🚀 go-pugleaf

	Tax question:

	The widow of a former Civil Service Retirement System employee
has received a lump-sum death benefit payment.

	The CSRS does qualify as an exempt pension plan. (Rev. Rul 56-1)

	Most qualified plans permit 5- and 10- year averaging elections,
which would reduce the tax paid considerably.

	But:

	The instructions on form 4972 "Tax on Lump Sum Distributions"
says on page 2 "Distributions that do Not qualify for the 20% Capital
Gain Election or for 5- or 10- Year Averaging"... "11. A lump-sum
credit or payment from the Federal Civil Service Retirement System (or
the Federal Employees Retirement System)."

	So: 2 questions:

	1) I can't find a IRS code section reference for this
instruction. (There was a 1991 court case so maybe this has recently
changed! and the IRS simply hasn't changed its instructions!)
"Guilzon, Edward, (1991) 97 TC 237, affd sub nom Guilzon, Carolyn,
3/15/93, CA-5 93-1 USTC"

	So: can anyone tell me where in the Code this rule comes from?
                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

	2) Why hasn't this been lobbyied for yet by federal employees?
Seems to me that a lot of widows of federal govt employees would like
to save some money in taxes. Other plans get to use form 4972.

	I can understand that the Hatch Act prevented them from doing
stuff like this, but that has changed long ago.

	Please email me directly if you have some info, on the tax
part. The politics, just post.

Daniel
guetzkow@access.digex.net