- 36 -
payment is due to fraud. Sec. 7454(a); Rule 142(b); Neidringhaus
v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 202, 210 (1992). To prove the existence
of an underpayment, respondent may not rely on the taxpayer's
failure to carry his or her burden of proof with respect to the
underlying deficiency. Parks v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 654, 660-
661 (1990); Petzoldt v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 661, 700 (1989).
Respondent must prove only that an underpayment exists, and not
the precise amount of such underpayment. DiLeo v. Commissioner,
96 T.C. 858, 872 (1991), affd. 959 F.2d 16 (2d Cir. 1992);
Petzoldt v. Commissioner, supra at 699.
Underpayment of Tax
Respondent contends that Mr. Katerelos underreported the
gross receipts of NDV by $40,111, $65,009, $41,190, and $52,111
for the years 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990, respectively, which
resulted in an underpayment of income tax for each of those
years.30 To support that contention, respondent relies on vari-
ous admissions by petitioners and the analyses by respondent of
the cash register tapes that Mr. Katerelos saved for the years
1987 through 1990. We turn first to petitioners' admissions.
Petitioners admitted in the amended returns they filed
during 1990 for each of the years 1987 through 1989 that they had
30 Respondent originally determined that petitioners under-
reported the gross receipts of NDV by $65,102 and $60,094 for
1988 and 1990, respectively; however, on brief, respondent
reduces the amounts of the additional gross receipts that she
claims were underreported for those years to $65,009 and $52,111,
respectively.
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