Lloyd E. Dawson, Jr. - Page 13

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               Ms. Dawson was sentenced to 28 months’ incarceration in                
          Federal prison.  At the time of trial, Ms. Dawson was on                    
          supervised release from Federal prison.  She was ordered by the             
          District Court to pay, and, at the time of trial, she was paying,           
          (1) restitution to Dr. Constant and (2) taxes to the Internal               
          Revenue Service (IRS) for 1988 in accordance with a payment                 
          schedule developed with the IRS.                                            
                                       OPINION                                        
          Innocent Spouse Issue                                                       
               The first issue that we must consider is whether petitioner            
          has shown that he is an innocent spouse with respect to the                 
          understatement of tax attributable to the funds embezzled by Ms.            
          Dawson in 1988.                                                             
               Spouses who file joint tax returns generally are jointly and           
          severally liable for Federal income tax due on their combined               
          incomes, as well as for interest on, and additions to, the tax.             
          Sec. 6013(d)(3); Park v. Commissioner, 25 F.3d 1289, 1292 (5th              
          Cir. 1994), affg. T.C. Memo. 1993-252.  The general rule is                 
          mitigated to some extent by section 6013(e), known as the                   
          “innocent spouse” rule.  Park v. Commissioner, supra.  Congress             
          regards joint and several liability as an important adjunct to              
          the privilege of filing joint tax returns, which generally                  
          results in a lower tax on the combined incomes of spouses than              
          would be due were they to file separate returns, and any                    






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