- 24 -
exercised ordinary business care and prudence, but nevertheless
was unable to file the return within the prescribed time. Sec.
301.6651-1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs.; see also United States
v. Boyle, supra at 246. Petitioner relies on two arguments to
establish reasonable cause.
First, petitioner claims that he based his decision not to
file on brochures he acquired before leaving the United States.
Petitioner described one of the brochures as covering U.S.
citizens living abroad and advising of an exemption from filing
for such citizens making less than $70,000 per year. Petitioner
has not produced the brochure. We take judicial notice of
Internal Revenue Publication 54 entitled "Tax Guide for U.S.
Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad". Publication 54 states
clearly that an individual must file a return in order to claim a
$70,000 exemption (available under section 91118) and also that
the exemption applies only to foreign earned income. Without
more, we conclude that petitioner's testimony regarding the
brochure fails to establish reasonable cause.
Second, petitioner claims that he based his decision not to
file on advice he received from the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong
that a return was not required if his income was less than
18Subject to certain limitations and restrictions, sec. 911
allows a citizen or resident of the United States living abroad
to exclude from gross income up to $70,000 in foreign earned
income. Sec. 911(a)(1), (b)(2)(A).
Page: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011