Edward and Ruth Kelly - Page 9

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                  2.  Petitioner's Contention That the Business Expense                               
            Deductions Were Grossly Erroneous                                                         
                  Petitioner contends, as she did on brief, that section                              
            274(d) elevates substantiation from a procedural proof                                    
            requirement to an actual element of entitlement to the deduction,                         
            and therefore, if there was no substantiation, the deductions                             
            were grossly erroneous.                                                                   
                  In order to prove that the travel and entertainment expenses                        
            that were claimed were grossly erroneous, petitioner must                                 
            demonstrate that the claimed losses had no basis in fact or law.                          
            Sec. 6013(e)(2)(B).                                                                       
                  A deduction has no basis in fact when the expense for which                         
            the deduction is claimed was never in fact made.  A deduction has                         
            no basis in law when the expense, even if made, does not qualify                          
            as a deductible expense under well-settled legal principles or                            
            when no substantial legal argument can be made to support its                             
            deductibility.  Thus, petitioner must  establish that the claimed                         
            deductions were fraudulent, frivolous, or, to use the word of the                         
            committee report,2 phony.   Bokum v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 126                            
            (1990), affd. 992 F.2d 1132 (11th Cir. 1993); Douglas v.                                  
            Commissioner, 86 T.C. 758, 762-763 (1986), affd. without                                  
            published opinion (10th Cir. June 28, 1989).                                              



                  2H. Rept. 98-432 (Part 2), at 1502 (1984).                                          




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