- 12 -
household expenses. Harvey simply refused to discuss finances
with petitioner, and systematically excluded her from his
business affairs, at least the business affairs which he
conducted after he left Dreyfus in 1971, well before the relevant
years. Whatever petitioner spent to indulge her own taste for
art and afford herself a few small luxuries, she paid for out of
her own meager earnings. She in fact gave Harvey money to pay
"IRS taxes" out of money she received from her father, and used
additional funds from that source to rehab the smaller house into
which petitioners were forced to move after tax deficiencies
required them to sell their larger, more comfortable house in
Hewlett Park.
(3) Nothing in the record would lead one to believe that
petitioners' lifestyle was lavish either before, during, or after
the relevant years. While petitioner conceded that Hewlett Bay
Park is considered to be a wealthy area, she also testified that
the couples' house on Piermont Avenue was at the "low end". We
perceive no reason to question the truthfulness of her testimony
on this point, and respondent's counsel did not challenge it.
(4) Harvey and his friend, Kreindler, repeatedly kept from
Arlene the truth about the tax shelter deductions that were being
claimed on the couple's returns for the relevant years, and
systematically refused to explain the returns to Arlene or give
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011