- 7 - Petitioners bear the burden of proving that respondent's position was not substantially justified. Rule 232(e); Estate of Johnson v. Commissioner, 985 F.2d 1315, 1318 (5th Cir. 1993); Bragg v. Commissioner, supra; Coastal Petroleum Refiners, Inc. v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 685, 688 (1990). Petitioners, however, need not show bad faith to establish that respondent's position was not substantially justified for purposes of a motion for administrative and litigation costs under section 7430. Estate of Perry v. Commissioner, 931 F.2d 1044, 1046 (5th Cir. 1991); Powers v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 457 (1993), affd. in part and revd. in part 43 F.3d 172 (5th Cir. 1995). Whether the position of the United States in this proceeding was substantially justified depends on whether respondent's position and actions were reasonable in light of the facts of the case and the applicable legal precedents. Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552 (1988); Bragg v. Commissioner, supra at 716; Coastal Petroleum Refiners, Inc. v. Commissioner, supra at 688. The reasonableness of respondent's position necessarily requires considering what respondent knew at the time she took her position and the events that occurred afterwards. Rutana v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 1329, 1334 (1987); Don Casey Co. v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 847, 862 (1986). Generally, respondent's concession of all or part of a case is not by itself sufficient to establish that respondent's position was unreasonable. Sokol v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 760, 767 (1989); Wasie v. Commissioner,Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011