- 14 -
that could satisfy a reasonable person." Pierce v. Underwood,
487 U.S. 552, 565 (1988); Powers v. Commissioner, 100 T.C. 457,
470-471 (1993). The fact that respondent loses or concedes a
case, without more, does not establish an unreasonable position.
Sokol v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 760, 767 (1989). Rather, the
reasonableness of respondent's position is determined by
considering the information available to her at the time the
notice of deficiency was issued. Sharer v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1996-90; see also Rutana v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 1329,
1334 (1987).
The adjustments made by Office Auditor Barrow during her
exmaination of petitioners' Federal income tax returns for 1985,
1986, and 1987 formed the basis of respondent's notice of
deficiency in this case. However, neither petitioners' testimony
at trial nor their post-trial brief clearly identified the
particular adjustments that petitioners contend were not
substantially justified. For instance, the only adjustments
which Mr. Lavallee made specific reference to in his testimony
were Officer Auditor Barrow's purported adjustments for trip
sheets and oil. However, Office Auditor Barrow's examination
workpapers do not discuss an adjustment for trip sheets. While
the adjustments for oil may have been contained within the
nominal adjustments of petitioners' Schedule C deductions for
car/truck expenses, the amounts allowed by Office Auditor Barrow
were determined on the basis of the substantiation provided by
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