- 22 -
Petitioner argues that if the income items in appendixes F
through J are attributed to him, then respondent has failed to
subtract expenses or deductions from petitioner’s gross receipts
for each year in issue. However, petitioner did not provide any
evidence regarding allowable expenses or deductions, and neither
petitioner nor his wife testified.
Even in criminal tax evasion cases, where the Government
bears the greater burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, it
is well settled “that evidence of unexplained receipts shifts to
the taxpayer the burden of coming forward with evidence as to the
amount of offsetting expenses, if any.” Siravo v. United States,
377 F.2d 469, 473 (1st Cir. 1967); see also Franklin v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-184. Where the taxpayer has failed
to file a return, or his return shows no receipts from a
particular activity, then the assumption that he, more readily
than respondent, has access to evidence of deductions or other
offsetting amounts makes the nonexistence of such amounts a fair
presumption, at least as an initial matter and absent a
satisfactory explanation of such nonexistence or the production
of some probative evidence. See Franklin v. Commissioner, supra.
We hold that petitioner had unreported taxable income of
$47,750 in 1988, $88,404 in 1989, $77,149 in 1990, $18,258 in
1991, and $20,083 in 1992. See appendixes F through J.
Page: Previous 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011