1983 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 768 | Tax Ct. | 1983
MEMORANDUM OPINION
DAWSON,
At issue are (1) whether petitioners are entitled to a claimed Schedule C business loss and to income averaging for 1978; and (2) whether they are liable for the addition to tax under section 6653(a).
1983 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 768">*769 No facts have been stipulated by the parties. On November 26, 1982, respondent filed a motion for an order for petitioners to show cause why certain proposed facts and evidence should not be accepted for the purposes of this case. Petitioners were ordered to show cause on December 6, 1982. They filed a response on that date which reads, in part, as follows:
1. Paragraphs two (2) of Respondent's motion can not be verified unless Petitioners waive their
2. We the Petitioners agree with paragraph three (3); all issues set forth in the statutory notice of Deficiency dated Jan. 22, 1982 are in dispute.
3. Petitioners cannot comply with T.C. Rule 91 (A) because to do so may possibly self incriminate or tend to incriminate petitioners. We have no intentions of turning over our personal files and papers to the Respondent in order that he may prove his allegations as set forth in the statutory notice of Deficiency. Petitioners rely on the good faith of Boyd in the case of Boyd v. U.S. decided by the Supreme Court on Feb. 1, 1886. Petitioners have told counsel for Respondent1983 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 768">*770 that they would rely on a good faith
4. Petitioners rely upon the Tax Reform Act of 1976
The Court deems the response to be insufficient and therefore the order to show cause has been made absolute. The facts set forth in Exhibits A through C to respondent's motion are accepted as established for the purposes of this case.
Petitioners were residents of Round Rock, Texas, at the time they filed their petition herein. They timely filed a joint Federal income tax return for the year 1978. The return was prepared by James M. Damon of Austin, Texas, who was convicted on April 28, 1981, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, of preparing false and fraudulent returns in violation of section 7206(2) of the Code. Mr. Damon would have taxpayers, 1983 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 768">*771 who were wage earners, report self-employment business income and deductions on Schedule C of Form 1040 incorrectly reflecting substantial business losses.
During 1978 John A. Coulter was employed by TexasUtilities Generating Company and Aluminum Company of America, and Doris L. Coulter was employed by K Mart Corporation. Neither petitioner was self-employed. The deductions claimed by them on Schedule C of their Form 1040 were disallowed by respondent and the income averaging was not allowed because petitioners did not verify the taxable amounts in prior years.
When the case was called for trial the petitioners offered no evidence in support of the assignments of error alleged in their petition. Instead, they argued that (1)
There is no evidence in this record as to any violation of
We reject petitioners'
Petitioners have the burden of proving that respondent's determination in regard to the deficiency and addition to tax is incorrect.
Footnotes
1. All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended and in effect for the year in issue, unless otherwise indicated.↩
2. After this case was submitted the petitioners filed a motion for an in-camera review of their records by the Court in their effort to justify the assertion of their
Fifth Amendment privilege. The motion was denied on the authority of , 628-629↩ (3d Cir. 1967).In re U.S. Hoffman Can Corp., 373 F.2d 622">373 F.2d 622