- 6 -
basis upon which an estimate may be made. Vanicek v.
Commissioner, 85 T.C. 731, 743 (1985). Without such a basis, any
allowance would amount to unguided largesse. Williams v. United
States, 245 F.2d 559, 560 (5th Cir. 1957).
At trial, petitioner admitted that he could not remember
whether he maintained contemporaneous records of his gambling
activity for 1989. At trial, petitioner also admitted that
although he maintained records of his gambling activity for 1992,
such records were inaccurate. In any event, petitioner did not
provide the Court with any records or documentation whatsoever
regarding his gambling activity for either 1989 or 1992. The
only evidence presented by petitioner to support the deductions
for gambling losses was petitioner's own testimony.
We recognize that petitioner must have sustained some losses
in view of his substantial gambling activity. However, we are
reminded of petitioner's testimony that petitioner estimated a
portion of the gambling winnings reported on his 1992 return.
Moreover, the gambling winnings that were reported on the 1989
return appear to represent only those winnings for which Forms W-
2G were issued. Thus, we have no assurance that petitioner
reported all of his gambling winnings. This uncertainty,
together with the complete absence of any documentation or other
credible corroborating evidence concerning petitioner's gambling
activity, precludes us from estimating petitioner's alleged
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011