Farmer and the Tax Man: The Scope of the Tax Forgiveness Provision in Chapter 12 Bankruptcy, The Comment

In Hall v. United States, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari upon the petition of debtors from the Ninth Circuit and resolved the circuit split in favor of the IRS. Faced with the familiar task of statutory interpretation, the opinion of the Supreme Court will inevitably affect economically distressed farmers nationwide. A primary concern of the Court was that an incorrect statutory interpretation would leave the Code in shambles because of the interdependency of its provisions. Because Hall primarily addresses issues of statutory interpretation, Part II of this Comment will outline the statutory background of the two statutes primarily at issue in the circuit split. Next, Part III of this Comment will survey the diverging circuit decisions concerning the interpretation and scope of section 1222(a)(2)(A). Then Part IV will examine and, to the extent possible, resolve the arguments of the parties. Part V will outline the Supreme Court decision. Finally Part VI will consider proposed amendment to increase clarity and prevent future statutory interpretation disputes