Oreland A. and Lucille S. Thornsjo - Page 24




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          893 (6th Cir. 1993), affg. Donahue v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.              
          1991-181; Laverne v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 637, 652-653 (1990),             
          affd. without published opinion 956 F.2d 274 (9th Cir. 1992);               
          Sann v. Commissioner, supra.  Pleas of reliance have been                   
          rejected when neither the taxpayer nor the advisers purportedly             
          relied upon by the taxpayer knew anything about the nontax                  
          business aspects of the contemplated venture.  See David v.                 
          Commissioner, supra; Freytag v. Commissioner, supra.                        
               In these cases, the purported value of the recyclers                   
          generated the deductions and credits.  This circumstance was                
          clearly reflected in the offering memorandum.  Prior to                     
          purchasing partnership interests in Hamilton, Thornsjo and                  
          Furlong did not read the offering memorandum and Woolf only                 
          briefly reviewed it.  However, Schluter read the offering                   
          memorandum and was fully aware of the tax benefits associated               
          with a so-called investment in Hamilton.  In their discussions              
          with Schluter, petitioners surely learned or should have learned            
          about the amount and nature of the tax benefits.  Plainly the tax           
          benefits associated with purchasing a partnership share in                  
          Hamilton, including the carrybacks, were very substantial.  The             
          direct reductions claimed on petitioners’ tax returns, from the             
          investment tax credit alone, exceeded their cash investment.                
          Therefore, like the taxpayers in Provizer v. Commissioner, T.C.             
          Memo. 1992-177, “except for a few weeks at the beginning,                   






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