- 23 - taxes. Stoltzfus v. United States, 398 F.2d 1002, 1004 (3d Cir. 1968); Rowlee v. Commissioner, 80 T.C. 1111, 1123 (1983). The issue is one of fact to be determined upon a consideration of the entire record. Rowlee v. Commissioner, supra; Beaver v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 85, 92 (1970). In view of the fact that fraudulent intent can seldom be established by direct proof of the taxpayer's intention, fraud is usually established by drawing inferences from the taxpayer’s entire course of conduct. Parks v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 654, 664 (1990); Estate of Beck v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 297, 363 (1971). The courts have developed several indicia or "badges" of fraudulent behavior. These “badges of fraud” include conduct such as consistently understating income, Estate of Upshaw v. Commissioner, 416 F.2d 737 (7th Cir. 1969); Parks v. Commissioner, supra; failing to cooperate with tax authorities, Zell v. Commissioner, 763 F.2d 1139, 1146 (10th Cir. 1985), affg. T.C. Memo. 1984-152; and any other conduct likely to mislead or conceal, see Estate of Schneider v. Commissioner, 29 T.C. 940, 954-955 (1958). We note that since petitioner is a corporation, it can act only through its officers. Federbush v. Commissioner, 34 T.C. 740, 749 (1960), affd. 325 F.2d 1 (2d Cir. 1963). In this case, respondent has proven that $127,889 of petitioner's income in 1990 was diverted to the personalPage: Previous 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next
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