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Petitioners claim that respondent's notice of deficiency is
"uninformative", and "therefore respondent has the burden of
producing evidence from which the petitioners' tax liability can be
determined". Petitioners' claim is without merit. While
respondent's notice of deficiency to petitioners is not a model of
clarity, nonetheless, it is not uninformative. Moreover, Rule 142
places the burden of proof on petitioners, except in situations not
relevant herein. "This burden is a burden of persuasion; it
requires * * *[petitioners] to show the merits of [their] claim by
at least a preponderance of the evidence." Rockwell v.
Commissioner, 512 F.2d 882, 885 (9th Cir. 1975), affg. T.C. Memo.
1972-133. Where the Commissioner has made a deficiency
determination denying the taxpayer's entitlement to a claimed
deduction (such as here), "the taxpayer has 'the burden of
producing enough evidence to rebut the deficiency determination and
the burden of persuasion in substantiating a claimed deduction'."
Goldberg v. United States, 789 F.2d 1341, 1343 (9th Cir. 1986)
(quoting Valley Title Co. v. Commissioner, 559 F.2d 1139, 1141 (9th
Cir. 1977), revg. and remanding T.C. Memo. 1975-48).
Schedule E Rental Losses
Section 212 provides a deduction for all ordinary and
necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year with
respect to the management, conservation, or maintenance of property
held for the production of income. However, the taxpayer must be
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