- 26 - determination is presumed correct, and petitioner bears the burden of proving otherwise. Rule 142(a); Luman v. Commissioner, 79 T.C. 846, 860-861 (1982). In the instant case, petitioner argues that he informed his return preparer, Mr. Tilton, of the sale of the automobiles on behalf of the Ben-Jabr family and the loans he received in 1988. Petitioner contends that Mr. Tilton advised him that the receipt of the loan proceeds was not taxable. Petitioner claims that his alleged reliance on Mr. Tilton's advice was reasonable, and he acted in good faith in not including the proceeds from the sale of the automobiles in his gross income for 1988. However, we have already found that the five automobiles in issue belonged to petitioner. The information that petitioner allegedly gave to Mr. Tilton was not accurate, and, therefore, any advice based on this inaccurate information cannot be relied upon by petitioner to shield him from the addition to tax for negligence. We also note that petitioner failed to report gain on his 1988 return from the sale of two additional automobiles which he admittedly owned. Petitioner has failed to present any credible evidence demonstrating that he was not negligent, and, therefore, we sustain the addition to tax. Finally, respondent determined that petitioner is liable for an addition to tax for substantial understatement of income tax. Section 6661(a) provides for an addition to tax equal to 25 percent of the amount of any underpayment attributable to suchPage: Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011