- 55 - In his reply brief, Mr. Henry further contends: In regard to penalties, the petitioner relied on the advice of his tax preparer, an enrolled agent. An enrolled agent has sufficient training in tax. See Treasurer [sic] Circular 230. Thus the petitioner was entitled to rely on his advice. The advice given was based on the generally available tax information at the time and was based on recognized tax publications. The Schleier case would not have shown in any publications at the time of the advice. * * * We address first petitioner's claimed reliance on his return preparer, Mr. Gargiulo. In this regard, the following testimony of Mr. Gargiulo is instructive: Q So who provided you with the characterization of the money. In other words, how did you come to understand what the character of this money in '94 was? A Through discussions with Mr. Henry. And he had sought other outside help. * * * * * * * Q So as far as you were concerned -- * * * * * * * Q -- it was -- as long as it came from a damage award, it was excludable. A For personal injury. Yes. Q But what did the personal injury have to do with the matter? A That's the character of the award. Q In other words, if the damage was for personal injury, it was your understanding that it was ex- cludable? A Yes, sir.Page: Previous 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 Next
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