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Addition to Tax for Failure To File Timely Tax Returns
Unless shown to be for reasonable cause and not due to
willful neglect, failure to file a return on the due date
generally results in an addition to tax in the amount of 5
percent for each month during which such failure continues, but
not exceeding 25 percent in the aggregate. See sec. 6651(a)(1).
Petitioners’ 1988 Federal income tax return was due
April 17, 1989. It was filed February 15, 1991. Petitioners’
1989 Federal income tax return was due April 16, 1990. It was
also filed February 15, 1991.
Neither at trial nor on brief have petitioners specifically
addressed respondent’s determination that they are liable for
the section 6651(a) addition to tax. Petitioner testified that
petitioners had suffered several misfortunes. He testified that
his law partner was murdered and that petitioner wife was
frequently ill, necessitating numerous trips to the Mayo Clinic.
Petitioners’ return preparer testified, however, that the murder
occurred in 1980 and that the Mayo Clinic trips were more recent
than the years at issue. The scant evidence in the record fails
to establish any clear nexus between these misfortunes and
petitioners’ failure to file timely Federal income tax returns.
Petitioner also testified that he was busier than usual
with his law practice, in part because his father, who was also
petitioner’s law partner, had undergone open-heart surgery.
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