- 4 -
petitioner to submit either paycheck stubs or a yearend summary
of payments from 2003. Within that time period, the Court
received into evidence a yearend statement from petitioner’s
employer showing total deductions from pay for 2003 of $20,742.
Discussion
The Commissioner’s determinations are presumed correct, and
taxpayers generally bear the burden of proving otherwise. Welch
v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933). Petitioner did not argue
that section 7491 is applicable in this case, nor did he
establish that the burden of proof should shift to respondent.
Moreover, the issue involved in this case, alimony, is a legal
one and will be decided on the record without regard to the
burden of proof. Petitioner, however, bears the burden of
proving that respondent’s determination in the notice of
deficiency is erroneous. See Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering,
supra at 115.
An individual may deduct from his or her gross income the
payments he or she made during a taxable year for alimony or
separate maintenance. Sec. 215(a).
Section 71(b)(1) defines “alimony or separate maintenance
payment” as any payment in cash if:
(A) such payment is received by (or on behalf of)
a spouse under a divorce or separation instrument,
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007