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Petitioner claims that he was mentally incompetent when he
signed his Federal income tax returns for the years in issue,2
and when he signed Forms 4549-CG, Income Tax Examination Changes,
for 1990 and 1991 through 1993, in which he accepted respondent’s
audit changes, agreed to immediate assessment of the
deficiencies, and waived his right to challenge the assessments
in the Tax Court. Petitioner has challenged the proposed levies
on the sole ground that he does not owe the assessments because
respondent failed to allow deductions for worthlessness of his
stock in, or uncollectability of his loans to, his affiliated
corporations, James Horn Construction Co. (Horn Construction) and
Horn Enterprises.
We affirm respondent’s determination to proceed with the
proposed levies. Petitioner has failed to establish that he was
2Rule 60(c) provides that the “capacity of an individual
* * * to engage in litigation in the Court shall be determined by
the law of the individual’s domicile.” Rule 60(d) provides,
among other things, that if the Court believes there is a serious
question about an individual’s competence to represent himself,
“the Court, if it deems justice so requires, may continue the
case until appropriate steps have been taken to obtain an
adjudication of the question by a court having jurisdiction so to
do, or may take such other action as it deems proper.” Nothing
in petitioner’s statements in telephone conferences or papers
filed during the pretrial phase of this case or in his demeanor
and conduct at trial led the Court to believe that petitioner was
incompetent to represent himself in this proceeding. Although
petitioner had indicated, in a written objection to one of
respondent’s motions, that he wanted a continuance to provide
more time to discover evidence to support his claims, including
evidence he believed was in the possession of the Internal
Revenue Service, petitioner did not move for or even request a
continuance on the ground of incompetence to represent himself.
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