Charles A. Greene and Christine J. Greene - Page 19

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               For reliance on professional advice to excuse a taxpayer               
          from the negligence additions to tax, the taxpayer must show that           
          the professional adviser had the expertise and knowledge of the             
          pertinent facts to provide informed advice on the subject matter.           
          Leonhart v. Commissioner, supra; Freytag v. Commissioner, supra;            
          Stone v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-230; Reimann v.                      
          Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-84.  Reliance on a professional               
          adviser can be inadequate when the taxpayer and his adviser knew            
          nothing about the nontax business aspects of the venture.  Beck             
          v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 557 (1985); Flowers v. Commissioner, 80            
          T.C. 914 (1983).  In order for reliance on professional advice to           
          excuse a taxpayer from the negligence additions to tax, the                 
          reliance must be reasonable, in good faith, and based upon full             
          disclosure.  Zfass v. Commissioner, 118 F.3d 184, 188 (4th Cir.             
          1997), affg. T.C. Memo. 1996-167; Freytag v. Commissioner, supra            
          at 888.                                                                     
               By the time petitioners purchased their interest in Mid                
          Continent in 1983, their tax returns show that they had acquired            
          interests in several partnerships.  Petitioner had built "from              
          nothing" a furniture manufacturing business that was capable of             
          providing his family with an income of over $800,000 in 1982 and            
          more than $500,000 in both 1983 and 1984.  Although not highly              
          educated in a formal sense, petitioner is articulate and                    
          intelligent and has a history of financial success in the                   





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