- 11 - case, the taxpayers relied upon their accountant for investment advice. Following Anderson, the court noted that the fact that the accountant was entitled to receive compensation for the taxpayers’ investment does not make that advice per se unreasonable: “the mere fact that * * *[the adviser] received compensation for taxpayers’ reliance on his advice does not turn him into a promoter whose advice cannot be considered independent.” Gilmore & Wilson Constr. Co. v. Commissioner, supra. As in Anderson, the court noted that the accountant was not in any way affiliated with the partnerships related to the investment (other than a personal investment in one of them). In the case at hand, unlike Anderson and Gilmore & Wilson Constr. Co., Mr. Peterson was involved in Yuma Mesa from the planning stages through its operation. He was a promoter of the partnership and was an officer and director of the corporation which entered into the research and development agreement with it. Mr. Peterson falls far outside the role of an adviser who simply received commissions from independent entities upon the 3(...continued) was discussed by the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in accordance with its rule 36.3 in Thompson v. United States, 223 F.3d 1206, 1210 n.7 (l0th Cir. 2000), which was decided after the briefs were filed in this case. The court in Thompson, however, addressed “the more limited question of whether a reliance instruction was warranted”; i.e., whether the district court abused its discretion in instructing the jury that reliance on a professional was a defense to the negligence penalties. Id. at 1210.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011