- 12 - Petitioner’s argument that Rule 91(f) could not be applied without violating his Fifth Amendment privilege must be rejected. The phrase that comes readily to mind was first used by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Sullivan, 274 U.S. 259, 264 (1927), to wit, a taxpayer may not “draw a conjurer’s circle around the whole matter” of his or her tax liability. See also Steinbrecher v. Commissioner, 712 F.2d 195, 198 (5th Cir. 1983), affg. T.C. Memo. 1983-12; McCoy v. Commissioner, 696 F.2d 1234 (9th Cir. 1983), affg. 76 T.C. 1027 (1981); Edwards v. Commissioner, 680 F.2d 1268 (9th Cir. 1982), affg. an unreported decision of this Court; United States v. Carlson, 617 F.2d 518, 523 (9th Cir. 1980). In a civil tax case, the taxpayer must accept the consequences of asserting the Fifth Amendment and cannot avoid the burden of proof by claiming the privilege and attempting to convert “the shield * * * which it was intended to be into a sword”. United States v. Rylander, 460 U.S. 752, 758 (1983); see Steinbrecher v. Commissioner, supra; Traficant v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 501 (1987), affd. 884 F.2d 258 (6th Cir. 1989). Petitioner also contends that respondent erroneously relied on third-party information to determine that he had unreported income for the years in issue. He has not, however, raised any bona fide dispute as to the amounts reported on the third-party documents. His arguments, as he was advised by respondent duringPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
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