Joseph C. Minneman - Page 12




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         property immediately before the casualty and the fair market                 
         value of the property immediately after the casualty must                    
         generally be ascertained by competent appraisal.  Sec. 1.165-                
         7(a)(2)(i), Income Tax Regs.                                                 
              At trial, petitioner boasted that “I’ve kept very detailed              
         records.”  Nevertheless, petitioner, a former practicing attorney            
         with litigation experience and a degree in accounting, failed to             
         introduce one shred of documentary evidence regarding his                    
         adjusted basis in any of the items of property involved.                     
         Similarly, petitioner failed to introduce one shred of                       
         documentary evidence regarding the fair market value of any of               
         those items.  It is well established that if a taxpayer fails to             
         prove the taxpayer’s adjusted basis in the property involved, no             
         casualty loss is allowable.  Zmuda v. Commissioner, 79 T.C. 714,             
         727 (1982), affd. 731 F.2d 1417 (9th Cir. 1984); Millsap v.                  
         Commissioner, 46 T.C. 751, 760 (1966), affd. 387 F.2d 420 (8th               
         Cir. 1968); see sec. 1.6001-1(a), Income Tax Regs. (requiring                
         taxpayers to maintain records sufficient to permit verification              
         of losses).                                                                  
              On brief, petitioner asks that we apply the approach used in            
         Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540 (2d Cir. 1930), and                       
         approximate the amount of his alleged losses.  Although we have              
         occasionally followed that approach in other cases when it has               
         been appropriate to do so, e.g., Daniel v. Commissioner, T.C.                






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