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petitioner was fully aware of her obligation to file tax returns.
Petitioner failed to maintain adequate records of her income-
producing activities. The parties have stipulated that
petitioner, an experienced and sophisticated businessperson who
maintained books and records for her art business and had
regularly filed tax returns in the past, failed to provide Eisner
& Lubin with complete and accurate records for the taxable years
1987 and 1988, despite repeated insistence that she do so.
In addition, petitioner rather cavalierly failed to timely
pay her accountants, Eisner & Lubin, for their return preparation
services for the 1987 and 1988 taxable years, an ongoing problem;
petitioner's failure to pay effectively prevented preparation of
petitioner's tax returns for these years. Petitioner had
adequate funds in her Pierpont Account and in the accounts of her
nominee corporations to pay Eisner & Lubin. Petitioner knew that
Eisner & Lubin would cease tax return preparation until
petitioner satisfied fees in arrears and paid a $10,000 retainer
as Eisner & Lubin's October 21, 1987, letter indicated. Burns,
on behalf of petitioner, finally paid Eisner & Lubin in 1989.
The fact that petitioner had sufficient funds to pay Eisner &
Lubin and knew that Eisner & Lubin would cease work until paid,
further suggests a willful failure to file her 1987 and 1988
returns.
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