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U.S. 79, 84 (1992); New Colonial Ice Co. v. Helvering, 292 U.S.
435, 440 (1934).
Petitioner has not met his burden of proving that the
expenses he allegedly incurred in 1993 and 1994 were incurred in
connection with a trade or business of petitioner. Petitioner
testified that he served on the tribal council from October 1983
until March 1990. Although the expenses he incurred were for
activities performed on behalf of the tribal council in 1993 and
1994, there is no evidence that he was performing services for
the tribal council “with continuity and regularity” or that his
primary purpose for performing the services was “for income and
profit”. Groetzinger v. Commissioner, supra at 35.
Even if we were to assume that the expenses allegedly
incurred by petitioner were in connection with a trade or
business, petitioner failed to prove that he did not, and would
not, receive the reimbursement to which he claimed he was
entitled under tribal council reimbursement policies. Moreover,
petitioner failed to substantiate the expenses he claimed he was
entitled to deduct. Although petitioner maintained some records
and offered those records into evidence at trial, the
documentation was inconsistent, incoherent, and insufficient to
enable us to determine which of the expenses, if any, were
deductible and which were not. Petitioner submitted three types
of proof to substantiate his expenses: (1) An “account of
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