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time their 1987 return was due to be filed, he and his wife were
moving to England. He stated that he turned over all of his
records to his return preparer for his use in preparing the 1987
return. Petitioner also testified that his return preparer told
him that petitioners did not owe any taxes for their 1987 tax
year. The implication apparently intended by petitioner through
his testimony regarding his return preparer appears to be that
the filing delinquency was somehow the fault of the return
preparer, and not petitioners'. Petitioner also testified that
he did not recall telling the return preparer that he had earned
any income from Con Tex, Inc. (the largest single source of
petitioners' income for 1987).
As a matter of fact, petitioners have presented no evidence
that their return was actually prepared by someone other than
themselves. The return filed June 2, 1993, contains no signature
other than those of petitioners and bears no indication that it
was prepared by anyone other than them. But assuming, for the
sake of argument, that petitioners' return was prepared by
someone other than themselves, petitioners still have not met
their burden of proof. Reliance on another to timely file a
return is not reasonable cause for the delinquent filing of a
return. Taxpayers still have a duty to ascertain and meet the
statutory deadline, which petitioners have not done. United
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