Alice Berger, et al. - Page 81

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          authorities, as was done, to support her position that the return           
          was invalid because she was signing under duress.  At the times             
          her accountant signed the requests to extend the times for filing           
          her 1989 return, the 1988 return was under audit by the Internal            
          Revenue Service.  On September 13, 1990, the revenue agent issued           
          a report taking the position that a substantial part of the Phase           
          II deposits was taxable on the 1988 return.  Her 1989 return, as            
          filed on October 12, 1990, pursuant to the extensions, took the             
          position, obviously with the return preparer's advice, that there           
          was no tax due.  This appears to have been due to the combination           
          of three mistaken positions:  First, that she had a net loss of             
          $4,101 from Woodbine operations because the bulk of the gross               
          income had been taxable in the prior year, in accordance with the           
          revenue agent's recently issued report; second, the even more               
          aggressive position she has been taking in this proceeding, that            
          she was not taxable on any part of the 1989 Woodbine operating              
          income because Howard Berger owned the Woodbine business in its             
          entirety; and third, that she had no gain on the sale to the                
          Kunkowskis because the attribution of the sale to Howard Berger             
          under either or both of the "on behalf of" and step-transaction             
          approaches under section 1041 gave her a basis in Woodbine equal            
          to the amount realized of $680,000.  Although we have concluded             
          otherwise on the merits, we believe that there was a reasonable             
          basis for Alice Berger's 1989 return positions, and for her                 
          failures to pay tax with her extension applications.  We reject             
          respondent's imposition of the section 6651(a) addition to tax.             



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