- 19 - determination of whether the taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and in good faith depends on the pertinent facts and circumstances. See sec. 1.6664-4(b)(1), Income Tax Regs. As a general rule, the taxpayer bears the burden of proving that the taxpayer is not liable for the accuracy- related penalty. See Compaq Computer Corp. v. Commissioner, 113 T.C. 214, 226 (1999). Effective for court proceedings arising in connection with examinations commencing after July 22, 1998, section 7491(c) provides that the Commissioner shall have the burden of production with respect to the liability of any individual for any penalty. However, the Commissioner’s burden does not extend to whether the taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and in good faith; rather, it is the taxpayer’s responsibility to raise that defense. See H. Conf. Rept. 105-599, 1998-3 C.B. 747, 995, 996. As previously discussed, section 7491 has no application to the taxable year 1995, but it does apply to the taxable year 1996. We turn now to the merits of the issue. Negligence often takes the form of an understatement of income or an overstatement of deductions. See Healey v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1996-260, and cases cited therein. Understatement of income or overstatement of deductions may reflect the inadequacy of the taxpayer's records, which is, ofPage: Previous 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Next
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