On September 3, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Dickinson v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-128). The primary issue before the court in Dickinson v. Commissioner was whether the IRS’s recharacterization of the petitioners’ stock donations as taxable redemptions followed by donations of the cash proceeds was appropriate, or whether the form of the transaction should be respected. Background to Dickinson v. Commissioner The petitioner-husband was the CFO and shareholder of GCI during the years at issue. The GCI board of directors authorized the shareholders to donate GCI shares to the Fidelity Investment Charitable Gift Fund, a tax-exempt organization under IRC § 501(c)(3). Upon transfer of the stock, Fidelity liquidated it. The petitioner-husband signed a letter of understanding to Fidelity, indicating that the transferred stock was exclusively owned and controlled by Fidelity. The petitioner-husband received confirmation letters from Fidelity, which explained that Fidelity had exclusive…