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entire underpayment if any portion of such underpayment is due to
negligence. Section 6653(a)(1)(B), for returns due in 1987 and
1988, and section 6653(a)(2) for returns due in 1986, impose an
addition to tax equal to 50 percent of the interest payable under
section 6601 with respect to the portion of the underpayment due
to negligence. "Negligence is lack of due care or failure to do
what a reasonable and ordinarily prudent person would do under
the circumstances." Neely v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 934, 947
(1985) (quoting Marcello v. Commissioner, 380 F.2d 499, 506
(5th Cir. 1967), affg. in part, revg. in part 43 T.C. 168
(1964)). Petitioners bear the burden of proof. Rule 142(a).
As we said in section I., supra, petitioners have failed to
plead facts in support of their assignment of error with regard
to respondent's determinations of additions to tax. On brief,
petitioners argue that they did not act negligently because they
relied "on the advice of their accountant", whom we assume was
Vebeliunas. None of petitioners testified. Vebeliunas testified
that he was never an accountant for the Zardses. The parties
have stipulated that information from Vebeliunas was the only
information each of petitioners considered in deciding whether to
invest in Good Shepherd. When asked what information he gave
petitioners, Vebeliunas testified as follows:
It's a difficult task to remember that many years
ago and to reconstruct the conversation. If the Court
would permit me, we have as much as 500 people invested
with us and many of them talk to me.
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