Norman E. Duquette, Inc. - Page 44




                                       - 44 -                                         
          intentional disregard of rules or regulations.10  Petitioner                
          assigns error to respondent’s determination.                                
               In the case of an underpayment of tax required to be shown             
          on a return, section 6662(a) and (b)(1) imposes a penalty in the            
          amount of 20 percent of the portion of the underpayment that is             
          attributable to negligence or intentional disregard of the rules            
          or regulations (hereafter, simply, negligence).  Negligence has             
          been defined as lack of due care or failure to do what a                    
          reasonable and prudent person would do under like circumstances.            
          E.g., Hofstetter v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 695, 704 (1992).                  
          Negligence includes any failure by the taxpayer to keep adequate            
          books and records or to substantiate items properly.  See sec.              
          1.6662-3(b)(1), Income Tax Regs.  Section 6664(c)(1) provides               
          that the accuracy-related penalty shall not be imposed with                 
          respect to any portion of an underpayment if it is shown that the           
          taxpayer acted in good faith and that there was reasonable cause            
          for the underpayment.  The determination of whether a taxpayer              
          acted in good faith and with reasonable cause is made on a case-            
          by-case basis, taking into account all pertinent facts and                  



               10  In his notice of deficiency, respondent also seeks to              
          impose the penalty on the ground that there was a substantial               
          understatement of tax under sec. 6662(b)(2).  On brief, however,            
          respondent has not pursued that argument.  We, therefore,                   
          consider him to have abandoned it.  See Bernstein v.                        
          Commissioner, 22 T.C. 1146, 1152 (1954), affd. 230 F.2d 603 (2d             
          Cir. 1956); Lime Cola Co. v. Commissioner, 22 T.C. 593, 606                 
          (1954); Roberts v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-225.                       





Page:  Previous  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45  46  47  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011