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no doubt but that petitioner knew of his obligation to file
returns and knew the dates on which they were due. Moreover, he
knew that he had an unpaid tax liability.
In spite of the personal adversity he encountered,
petitioner succeeded in generating substantial income for the
years at issue and apparently chose to spend this income to
maintain an elevated lifestyle and to “assure his family needs
were met”9 as opposed to paying his taxes. Petitioner is an
attorney and obviously knew he had an obligation to obey the tax
laws, including the obligation to file timely returns and pay the
taxes when due. The obstacles petitioner describes simply do not
rise to a level amounting to reasonable cause. After reviewing
the record and applying the de novo standard of review for all
years at issue, we hold that petitioner is liable for the
additions to tax under section 6651(a)(1) and (2) for all of the
years at issue.
Section 6654(a) imposes an addition to tax for failure to
pay estimated income tax where prepayments of such tax, either
through withholding or by making estimated quarterly tax payments
9In response to a question on Form 433-A, Collection
Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed
Individuals, requesting a list of “the dependents you can claim
on your tax return”, petitioner listed his son aged 24 and his
daughter aged 22, neither of whom lived with him. Petitioner
signed and dated the Form 433-A on Oct. 25, 2004. In
petitioner’s 2003 tax return, dated Oct. 14, 2004, neither child
(or anyone else) had been claimed as a dependent.
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