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At trial, petitioner admitted that in 1987 and 1988 he
rented the safe deposit boxes and that he put the bundles of cash
into the boxes; however, petitioner argues that as there is no
evidence that he was engaged in any illegal income-producing
activity during 1987 and 1988, respondent has no grounds for
charging him with unreported income for those years. Petitioner
therefore is arguing implicitly that respondent's determination
is arbitrary and erroneous.
In the usual case, a statutory notice of deficiency carries
with it a presumption of correctness, and petitioner would have
the burden of proving that respondent's determinations are
erroneous. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115
(1933). Courts have recognized a limited exception to this
general rule in cases involving unreported illegal income where
respondent introduced no substantive evidence but rested on the
presumption of correctness, and the taxpayer challenged the
notice of deficiency. Weimerskirch v. Commissioner, 596 F.2d 358
(9th Cir. 1979), revg. 67 T.C. 672 (1977); see also Dellacroce v.
Commissioner, 83 T.C. 269, 280 (1984); Llorente v. Commissioner,
74 T.C. 260, 264 (1980), affd. in part and revd. in part 649 F.2d
152 (2d Cir. 1981); Jackson v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 394 (1979).
We are satisfied that Weimerskirch v. Commissioner, supra,
and its progeny are distinguishable. In Weimerskirch v.
Commissioner, supra, respondent determined that the taxpayer had
a deficiency in his income tax based upon a revenue agent's
finding that the taxpayer omitted income derived from heroin
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