Richard William Corduan - Page 6




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          Associates $1,000 as settlement proceeds in exchange for this release.      
               Petitioner argues that he did not own the Bobcat.  However,            
          he presented no corroborating evidence of his testimony to this             
          effect, and he did not call either his father or his friend as a            
          witness.  We decline to accept petitioner’s uncorroborated, self-           
          serving testimony in light of both the Form 1099-A and the                  
          financing statement showing petitioner as debtor.  Accordingly,             
          we find that petitioner was indebted in the amount of $18,581 at            
          the time of the repossession in 1995.  On the other hand, we                
          accept petitioner’s testimony that he paid Associates an                    
          additional $1,000 as settlement proceeds because corroborating              
          references to the receipt of the settlement proceeds were made              
          both in the release and in a letter from counsel for Associates.            
               Respondent determined that petitioner received the DOI                 
          income in 1995.  Debt is considered discharged the moment it is             
          clear that it will not be repaid.  See Cozzi v. Commissioner, 88            
          T.C. 435 (1987).  Determining when this moment occurs requires an           
          assessment of the facts and circumstances surrounding the                   
          likelihood of repayment.  See id.  “Any ‘identifiable event’                
          which fixes the loss with certainty may be taken into                       
          consideration.”  Id. at 445.  Respondent based his determination            
          on the Form 1099-A issued to petitioner.  The Court takes                   
          judicial notice of the document “Instructions for Forms 1099,               








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