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Petitioners bought the houses in Kansas City and Yellville
for $16,000 and $20,000, respectively, and sold them for $17,000
and $23,000, respectively. Petitioner’s claim that he made a
profit of $40,000 from the sale of those houses is not credible.
Petitioner testified that he paid $6,000 towards the purchase
price of the Kansas City house from a settlement he received from
International Paper for an injury he sustained on the job, and
that he paid the remainder owed on the house ($10,000) with wages
he received from International Paper. Petitioner’s claim that he
paid the remainder owed on the house from his wages from
International Paper is implausible in light of the fact that he
also claims that he saved $54,000 from his $96,825 wages from
1973 to 1981; that would leave less than $33,000 for petitioners
to live on for 9 years. Petitioners’ claim that they made a
$23,000 profit in selling the Yellville house is also
implausible. Petitioner and his uncle made an $8,000 downpayment
for the Yellville house, and petitioner later traded his pickup
truck for his uncle’s share of the house. There is nothing in
the record to show that petitioner had the means to pay the
$12,000 balance on the house and pay petitioners’ living expenses
while working various odd jobs from 1981 to 1985.
Petitioners contend that petitioner saved half of what he
earned. This claim conflicts with their claim that he saved
$54,000 from his work for International Paper from 1973 to 1981
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