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Petitioner’s failure to do what an ordinarily prudent taxpayer
would do is negligence. This negligence led to the entire
deficiency in the instant case. Thus, the entire deficiency (in
the instant case, the entire underpayment) is attributable to
petitioner’s negligence.
Levine testified that petitioner presented “papers” to
Levine and gave certain information orally to Levine, but Levine
could not recall the specifics. Petitioner’s testimony on this
matter is consistent with, and no more detailed than, Levine’s
testimony. The following colloquy is illustrative:
THE COURT: Mr. Strong, it appears that Mr. Levine
prepared your 1987 tax return, is that correct?
THE WITNESS: That’s correct.
THE COURT: When he prepared your tax return, did you
simply give him the numbers or did you give him the
documents and he figured out the numbers from the documents?
THE WITNESS: No, I gave him the numbers. I provided
the information to him.
THE COURT: Did you give him the diary?
THE WITNESS: No, sir.
THE COURT: So, did you then total the information on
the diary? You add up the mileage, the dollar amounts and
so on?
THE WITNESS: Yes, Your Honor.
As a general rule, the duty of filing accurate tax returns
cannot be avoided by placing responsibility on an agent. Metra
Chem Corp. v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 654, 662 (1987); Pritchett v.
Commissioner, 63 T.C. 149, 174 (1974). Because the record does
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