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Henry bears the burden of proving that respondent erred in
determining the addition to tax applies. See Rule 142(a).
Henry concedes that, to date, he has failed to file any 1995
individual income tax return. Henry argues, however, that during
1995 Henry and Esther sold a significant number of shares in
various companies that had been purchased between 1986 and 1995.
At the time of the sale, Henry and Esther did not know their
original basis in the stock and, therefore, did not have
necessary information upon which to file an accurate return to
reflect their capital gains tax liability. Henry contends that,
with the help of their tax preparer, Mr. Goeglein, he made a
diligent attempt to locate the additional necessary information
by contacting various financial institutions and research firms,
but the information regarding the stock was difficult to obtain.
According to Henry, Mr. Goeglein “had ongoing dialogue with
Commissioner’s Revenue Agent Glenn Hofer”, who “insisted that
Henry Misle and Mr. Goeglein obtain an accurate basis for the
stock when filing their return.” Henry essentially contends that
the section 6651(a) addition to tax should not be assessed
because he was acting in good faith to comply with the request of
respondent’s agent and because finding accurate information
necessary to complete a timely return was too difficult.
As a general matter, the unavailability of information is
not reasonable cause for failing to file a timely return. See
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