- 8 - As of the date of the trial herein, a Mark IV helmet was being offered for sale for $800 by an individual in San Francis- co, California. OPINION Petitioner bears the burden of proving that respondent's determinations are erroneous. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933). Deductions are strictly a matter of legislative grace, and petitioner bears the burden of proving that he is entitled to any deduction claimed. New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering, 292 U.S. 435, 440 (1934). Petitioner attempted to satisfy his burden of proof in this case principally through his testimony and the Hetz report that was attached to his 1991 return. We found petitioner's uncor- roborated testimony at times questionable, general, vague, and conclusory. Under the circumstances presented here, we are not required to, and we do not, rely on petitioner's testimony to sustain his burden of establishing error in respondent's deter- minations. See Lerch v. Commissioner, 877 F.2d 624, 631-632 (7th Cir. 1989), affg. T.C. Memo. 1987-295; Geiger v. Commissioner, 440 F.2d 688, 689-690 (9th Cir. 1971), affg. per curiam T.C. Memo. 1969-159; Tokarski v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 74, 77 (1986). As for the Hetz report, for the reasons discussed below, we place no weight on that report. At trial, respondent presented as an expert witness thePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
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