- 23 - Petitioner contends that he relied on the advice of his accountants in reducing the income received from Besco by the alleged expenses and that such reliance precludes a finding of fraudulent intent. For petitioner to prevail on his reliance argument, however, he must have provided his accountants with full and correct information. Estate of Temple v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 143 (1976); see Morris v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992- 635, affd. without published opinion 15 F.3d 1079 (5th Cir. 1994). In this case, petitioner's alleged reliance does not preclude a finding of fraudulent intent. Petitioner maintains that his accountants were fully aware of the "nature" of the payment arrangement between Besco and petitioner when they advised petitioner to take a deduction for the expenses at issue. This contention does little more than suggest that petitioner's accountants conspired to defraud the Government. It does not, however, address whether petitioner provided his accountants with full and correct information regarding the alleged expenses at issue. Petitioner, not his accountants, handled his affairs. The record lacks sufficient evidence for us to conclude that petitioner provided his accountants with full and correct information so as to justify petitioner's reliance on an accountant's advice. Because petitioner's return preparer for 1983 testified that he could not recall how petitioner informed him of the alleged expenses at issue, and because petitioner declined to testify, all that isPage: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Next
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