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At trial, petitioner testified that the reason he could not
substantiate the expenses was that most of his records and
receipts had been destroyed. Petitioner stated that the U-Haul
trailer, which contained most of his records and receipts, became
unhitched and overturned, destroying all of its contents.
We note for the record that petitioner failed to produce any
evidence of the destruction of the trailer. Notwithstanding the
lack of such evidence, we recognize that when a taxpayer's
records have been lost or destroyed through circumstances beyond
his control, he is entitled to substantiate a deduction by
reconstruction of his expenditures through other credible
evidence. Watson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1988-29. Absent
the availability of further documentation, although not required
to do so, this Court may accept credible testimony of a taxpayer.
Watson v. Commissioner, supra.
On this record, we find that petitioner failed to provide
any information or credible testimony regarding the expenses
associated with his law practice. Petitioner provided no
receipts, bills, journals, ledgers, canceled checks, or expense
statements. Moreover, petitioner failed to reconstruct any
portion of his expenses.
Instead, petitioner submitted to the Court copies of court
pleadings involving the litigation of his two civil cases.
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