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narrative of participation, see Speer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
1996-323; Goshorn v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-578, we find
petitioner's description of his participation, when combined with
Mr. Saldivar's testimony and the objective evidence in the
record, to be credible, and we therefore conclude that petitioner
did materially participate in this activity by participating for
over 500 hours during the year.7
Rental Loss
Respondent disallowed a loss from petitioners' rental
property of $1,978. Except as otherwise provided by statute or
by Rule of this Court, the burden of proof is on petitioner to
demonstrate that respondent's determination was in error. Rule
142(a). Petitioners have not argued or presented any evidence to
dispute respondent's determination with regard to this amount,
and therefore petitioners are deemed to have abandoned the issue
of whether they are entitled to deduct rental losses of $1,978 in
1989.
Accuracy-Related Penalty
Section 6662 imposes a penalty in an amount equal to 20
percent of any underpayment attributable to, inter alia,
7 Petitioners argue that Mr. Harrison participated in the
treasure hunting and gold mining activity for over 1,200 hours.
While we accept petitioner's testimony regarding what he did at
each of the sites, we did not include all of his activities in
determining that petitioner participated for over 500 hours. For
example, we did not consider petitioner's walks on the beach
during the Florida operation to contribute toward material
participation.
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