Sanford M. and Sally Kirshenbaum - Page 18




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          Also as relevant to the present case, the maximum allowable                 
          deduction in any taxable year for a married individual is $2,000.           
          Sec. 219(c).  The amount of the deduction, however, may be                  
          limited where the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse was, for any            
          part of the taxable year, an active participant in a qualified              
          retirement plan.  Sec. 219(g)(1), (5)(A).                                   
               Petitioner contends that he and Mrs. Kirshenbaum each                  
          contributed $2,000 to an existing traditional IRA for 1998.                 
          Petitioner further claims that he is entitled to an IRA deduction           
          even if Mrs. Kirshenbaum is covered by the Pawtucket School’s               
          pension plan because Mrs. Kirshenbaum does not have any vested              
          rights in her pension plan.  In addition, petitioner steadfastly            
          claims that he is entitled to an IRA deduction “whether it’s from           
          a rollover or from out of pocket.”                                          
               However, there is no evidence to support petitioner’s                  
          contention that he or Mrs. Kirshenbaum made qualified retirement            
          contributions in 1998 other than his unsubstantiated allegations.           
          At trial, petitioner testified that he contributed to an existing           
          IRA, but he could not clearly articulate whether such                       
          contribution was made to Fidelity Investments, another IRA                  
          account, or some other qualified retirement account.  Most                  
          importantly, petitioner did not provide any substantiating                  


               19(...continued)                                                       
          as an individual retirement annuity described in sec. 408(b).               
          See Cobb v. Commissioner, 77 T.C. 1096, 1099 (1981).                        




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