- 11 - attributable to omitted income if, upon signing his or her tax return, the taxpayer had reason to know about the income- producing transaction that produced the omitted income. Reser v. Commissioner, supra at 1265; see also Sanders v. United States, 509 F.2d 162 (5th Cir. 1975); Terzian v. Commissioner, 72 T.C. 1164, 1170 (1979). Here, the record establishes that a reasonably prudent taxpayer would have known about the omitted income. Although Ms. Evans was involved in the family finances and knew about Mr. Evans' ranching activity, she took no steps to assure herself that petitioners' tax returns were filed properly. She did not ask (or even care) to see the returns or the underlying records. She was not concerned with, and turned a blind eye to, her tax obligations. A reasonable person in her position would have at least asked about the accuracy of the income reported on the 1989 return. This is especially true in the instant setting where Ms. Evans could easily have discussed the contents of the returns with Mr. Evans at or before the time that she signed them. She was not coerced into signing the returns, and Mr. Evans did not exercise undue influence over her with respect to their financial affairs. See Adams v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 300, 303 (1973). We hold that Ms. Evans is not an innocent spouse in any of the years in issue. In reaching all of our holdings herein, we have considered all arguments made by petitioners for contraryPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011