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satisfy the requirements of the tax law; and fourth, the
taxpayer must execute the return under penalties of perjury.
In regard to the fourth requirement, section 6065 requires that
returns be verified in writing under penalty of perjury.
On June 8, 1987, petitioner mailed to respondent an
unexecuted Form 1040, described supra on page 3. It is well
established that the filing of an unsigned document does not rise
to the level of a "return," and therefore such a document does
not start the running of the statute of limitations against
respondent. Lucas v. Pilliod Lumber Co., 281 U.S. 245, 249
(1930); Beard v. Commissioner, supra at 777; Richardson v.
Commissioner, 72 T.C. 818, 823 (1979); see Sloan v. Commissioner,
102 T.C. 137, 143 (1994), affd. 53 F.3d 799 (7th Cir. 1995).
Therefore, we conclude that the assessment against petitioner of
any income tax deficiency for the taxable year 1986 was not
barred by the statute of limitations contained in section 6501(a)
on March 6, 1995, when respondent issued the notice of
deficiency.
Rather than sign the Form 1040 submitted to respondent on
June 8, 1987, petitioner wrote "5th" on the signature line. The
Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination protects an
individual from being compelled to disclose information that
could reasonably be expected to furnish evidence needed to
prosecute the claimant for a crime. Kastigar v. United States,
406 U.S. 441, 445 (1972); Hoffman v. United States, 341 U.S. 479,
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