- 8 - Respondent’s burden with respect to fraudulent intent is met if it is shown that the taxpayer intended to conceal, mislead, or otherwise prevent the collection of taxes owing. See, e.g., Webb v. Commissioner, 394 F.2d 366, 377 (5th Cir. 1968), affg. T.C. Memo. 1966-81. Fraud may be proved by circumstantial evidence because direct proof of the taxpayer’s intent is rarely available. The taxpayer’s entire course of conduct may establish the requisite fraudulent intent. Stone v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 213, 223-224 (1971); Otsuki v. Commissioner, 53 T.C. 96, 105-106 (1969). Fraudulent intent may be inferred from various “badges of fraud”, including understatement of income, implausible or inconsistent explanations of behavior, concealing assets, and failure to cooperate with tax authorities. See Bradford v. Commissioner, 796 F.2d 303, 307 (9th Cir. 1986); Webb v. Commissioner, supra at 379; Marcus v. Commissioner, 70 T.C. 562, 577 (1978), affd. without published opinion 621 F.2d 439 (5th Cir. 1980). A taxpayer’s education may be considered in determining whether or not he had fraudulent intent. See, e.g., Scallen v. Commissioner, 877 F.2d 1364, 1370-1371 (8th Cir. 1989), affg. T.C. Memo. 1987-412. In this case, respondent has presented clear and convincing evidence that petitioner had taxable income for each of the years in issue and that he failed to report substantial amounts of that income on his returns. There is evidence, and we have found,Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011