- 22 -
rarely talked with petitioner. Instead he primarily discussed
matters with Mr. Aude. Relying on Mr. Gruys as the professional
preparer, petitioner signed the returns without questioning the
return, in light of the fact that Mr. Gruys had already signed
the return. Under the circumstances, petitioner was entitled to
rely upon the legitimacy that Mr. Gruys lent to the joint
returns.
Complete deference to the husband's judgment concerning the
couple's business affairs alone is not enough to grant innocent
spouse relief. Stevens v. Commissioner, supra at 1505-1506.
"Nevertheless, where physical or mental abuse is shown, even when
the abuse does not rise to the level of coercion, a basis may
exist for allowing innocent spouse relief." Kistner v.
Commissioner, supra at 1526 (treating the taxpayer's professed
fear of physical violence as one of the factors to determine if
she could be expected to know of the deduction or whether further
inquiry was necessary).
Stipulating that joint returns were filed for the years at
issue, petitioner raises the argument that Mr. Aude's physical
abuse of petitioner is a factor to be considered when determining
petitioner's duty to inquire. See Wiksell v. Commissioner, 90
F.3d 1459, 1462 (9th Cir. 1996), revg. on other grounds T.C.
Memo. 1994-99.
In Wiksell, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
rejected the taxpayer's argument that tragedy and duress clouded
Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011