John David Zielonka - Page 7

                                        - 7 -                                         

          losses under the rule of Cohan v. Commissioner, supra.                      
          Accordingly, we hold that petitioner has failed to carry his                
          burden of proof.  Petitioner is therefore not entitled to deduct            
          any gambling losses for 1989 and 1992.2                                     
          2.   Section 6651(a)(1) Addition to Tax                                     
               The addition to tax under section 6651(a)(1) is imposed on a           
          taxpayer who fails to file an income tax return in a timely                 
          fashion, unless the taxpayer's failure is due to reasonable cause           
          and not willful neglect.                                                    
               Petitioner bears the burden of proving that his failure to             
          timely file is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful               
          neglect.  Rule 142(a); Abramo v. Commissioner, 78 T.C. 154, 163             
          (1982).                                                                     
               Petitioner's income tax return for 1989 was due on Monday,             
          April 16, 1990, and petitioner's return for 1992 was due on April           
          15, 1993.  Secs. 6072(a), 7503.  However, petitioner's returns              
          for 1989 and 1992 were filed in April 1994.  Petitioner offered             
          no persuasive evidence indicative of reasonable cause to file               
          late.  This Court has consistently held that a taxpayer's failure           


          2 Although petitioner reported his gambling losses on                       
          Schedule A rather than on Schedule C, he considered himself to be           
          a professional gambler.  In contrast, respondent considers                  
          petitioner to be an amateur gambler.  However, because of our               
          holding that petitioner is not entitled to deduct any gambling              
          losses for 1989 and 1992, we need not decide petitioner's status            
          as a professional or amateur gambler.  See Groetzinger v.                   
          Commissioner, 480 U.S. 23 (1987).                                           




Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011