- 26 - we do not accept the changes in petitioners' 1993 amended return, by submitting that amended return, petitioners and Mr. Grenville- Jones concede that petitioners' original return for that year is in error. We are unable to find on the instant record that Mr. Grenville-Jones had the expertise10 and knowledge of the relevant 10 To illustrate Mr. Grenville-Jones' lack of expertise with respect to the preparation of petitioners' 1993 return, Mr. Grenville-Jones testified that he interpreted Publication 334, which he used to prepare petitioners' 1993 Schedule C, to mean that "you have a 2 years from 5 test, which means for 2 years you can run a loss and you can presume that loss to be a valid deduction unchallenged by the IRS, unless IRS shows it is not valid, which means, if they challenge that profit motivation, they have the burden of proof to challenge on the second year while you're not making a profit." He further stated: "So I refer to the IRS publication [334], and it's the second year of operation, therefore, that tells me he [petitioner] can file with certainty he will not be challenged at audit." However, Publication 334 states the following: Presumption of Profit An activity is presumed carried on for profit if it produced a profit in at least 3 of the last 5 tax years including the current year. * * * You have a profit when the gross income from an activity is more than the deductions for it. * * * * * * * If your business or investment activity passes this 3- * * * years-of-profit test, presume it is carried on for profit. * * * You can take all your business deductions from the activity, even for the years that you have a loss. You can rely on this presumption in every case, unless the IRS shows it is not valid. Publication 334 does not state, as Mr. Grenville-Jones testified, (continued...)Page: Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011