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(b) there is an increase in the volume of such holiday mail,
(c) the recognized deficiency of some U.S. Post Office
employees to take time off, leave early, and work less
diligently during such holiday, (d) the addition of
temporary postal employees during such holiday rush and
celebration with their known deficiency in accuracy and
efficiency, (e) the heavy airline passenger traffic during
the Memorial Day celebration period requiring that the mail
be pulled off flights and held for later flights, causing
mail handling delays at Mobile Regional Airport, (f) the
inclement weather during the critical period and the adverse
effect it had on travel in the District of Columbia, and (g)
the mail routine of the U.S. Tax Court which calls for
delivery of mail to the U.S. Tax Court only once a day, so
that any items received at its immediate post office during
the day is [sic] not delivered until the next day.
Petitioner makes speculations about the impact of "holiday"
conditions on mail service. We do not believe that petitioner
has established that "holiday" conditions existed that would have
had a significant impact on mail service during the relevant
period. Cf. Chang v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-298; Oswald
v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-17. We note that none of the
assertions made above are corroborated. While the Christmas
holiday season could very well lead to delays in mail delivery,
we find no evidence or reason to believe that Memorial Day has a
similar effect.
It is unfortunate that a petition purportedly mailed by the
end of the 90-day period was not received by the Court until the
14th day after its mailing. However, because petitioner's
attorney used a private metered postmark instead of taking the
envelope to the post office on May 24, 1999, and having it
postmarked, the regulations require petitioner to show, and he
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