Jeffrey H. Weitzman - Page 16




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          affg. Dister v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1987-217; Sacks v.                 
          Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1994-217, affd. 82 F.3d 918 (9th Cir.              
          1996).  The total of investment and energy tax credits ostensibly           
          generated by the partnership and claimed by petitioner was almost           
          1-1/2 times his cash investment.  In addition, petitioner claimed           
          over $10,000 as a partnership loss.  Consequently, like the                 
          taxpayers in Provizer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992-177,                 
          “except for a few weeks at the beginning, [petitioner] never had            
          any money in the * * * [partnership].”  The disproportionately              
          large tax benefits claimed on petitioner’s Federal income tax               
          return, relative to the dollar amount invested, should have                 
          alerted petitioner to the need for further investigation of the             
          partnership transactions.                                                   
               Any reliance petitioner may have placed on the materials in            
          the offering memorandum was unreasonable in light of the                    
          memorandum’s specific warnings that potential investors should              
          not rely on the statements or opinions contained in it and that             
          they should seek independent advice.  See Collins v.                        
          Commissioner, supra at 1386.  The tax opinion letter prepared by            
          Boylan & Evans included with the offering memorandum also                   
          expressly cautioned prospective investors such as petitioner not            
          to rely upon the letter.                                                    
               Moreover, the tax opinion made clear that no independent               
          evaluation of the transactions involved in this case was                    






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