- 11 - on the alleged expertise of Lukensow and the promotional materials was not reasonable or prudent. Pasternak v. Commissioner, 990 F.2d 893, 902-903 (6th Cir. 1993), affg. Donahue v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-181; Klieger v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992-734. Without any previous investment experience, petitioners agreed to purchase $200,000 worth of assets and incur debt of $190,100 solely upon the representations and promotional materials presented by Lukensow, an individual they discovered in a newspaper advertisement. Petitioners relied solely on Lukensow's representations as to his expertise without any further research. They also relied on his representations and the promotional material as to the legitimacy of the container investment, without any further investigation, although Lukensow, as a promoter, earned fees from the sale of the container leasing program. Petitioners proceeded to invest cash of nearly $10,000 and purported to incur liability for approximately $190,100, hoping to save taxes at virtually no cost to themselves, due to the refunds from the ITC carryback claims.5 It is clear that petitioners were sheltering income improperly with large deductions and small cash investments. For 5 Prior to the filing of their 1983 return, petitioners had undergone an audit of their 1980 and 1981 income tax returns in connection with an investment in the Universal Life Church and had been assessed substantial deficiencies, interest, and additions to tax in connection therewith.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Next
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