- 10 - shareholder with tax-free and interest-free access to profits attributable to policies issued through the shareholder's dealership. Messrs. McCurley and Hall would not repay their advances unless it was in their economic interests to do so. Petitioners have not persuaded us that it would ever be in their economic interests to repay these advances. Mr. McCurley, Mr. Hall, and SDI viewed the advances as permanent distributions with the understanding that there was a remote possibility that SDI would demand repayment. Accordingly, we hold that the advances to Messrs. McCurley and Hall were constructive dividends. II. Penalties and Addition to Tax A. Section 6662 Penalties for Negligence Section 6662(a), applicable to the McCurleys' 1991 and 1992 tax years and the Halls' 1989, 1990, and 1991 tax years, provides for an accuracy-related penalty equal to 20 percent of the portion of any underpayment to which the section applies. The section applies to, among other items, the portion of an underpayment attributable to negligence or disregard of rules or regulations. Sec. 6662(b)(1). Negligence has been defined as the lack of due care or failure to do what a reasonable and ordinarily prudent person would do under the circumstances. Neely v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 934, 947 (1985). It includes the failure to make a reasonable attempt to comply with the Internal Revenue Code. Sec. 6662(c). Section 6664(c) states that the accuracy-related penalty for negligence does not apply to anyPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011