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deduction claims for prior years amounts to “reasonable cause”
for his underpayments in the years at issue. In support of this
assertion, petitioner cites Estate of Phillips v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1955-139, revd. on other grounds 246 F.2d 209 (5th
Cir. 1957). In Estate of Phillips, the Commissioner had examined
the taxpayer’s records in prior years and had not assessed or
asserted deficiencies. We held that the taxpayer may use the
Commissioner’s tacit approval to rebut the presumption of
correctness of the Commissioner’s determination of the negligence
penalties for the years at issue.
Petitioner’s reliance on Estate of Phillips is misplaced.
In Estate of Phillips the Commissioner had examined prior years
and had taken no exception to the prior years’ returns. However,
the Commissioner’s approval of a prior year did not purge the
negligence of a later year. We simply held that the
Commissioner’s tacit approval of the prior years’ returns shifted
to the Commissioner the burden of coming forward with evidence of
the taxpayer’s negligence, a “burden he has not sustained.”
Petitioner did not offer any evidence to show that
respondent examined any tax year prior to 1992. Therefore, there
is no evidence in the record that respondent ever tacitly
approved petitioner’s method of calculating his Federal income
tax. Even if it can be said--and we do not agree-–that by
failing to audit petitioner’s prior returns respondent somehow
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