- 13 -
the penalties and any interest related thereto, they are not
deductible. See Tippin v. Commissioner, 104 T.C. 518, 528-529
(1995). In any event, petitioners have failed to prove that the
payments are deductible.
Mr. Nordbrock testified that some of the seminar expenses
and travel expenses were for an investment seminar related to
Ms. Nordbrock’s investments. Respondent’s theory is that the
seminars attended by petitioners, including travel to those
seminars, related to petitioners’ tax protest activities. Some
of the exhibits support respondent’s argument. A payment of $480
claimed as legal and professional fees was, according to
Mr. Nordbrock’s testimony, for authoring a letter to the IRS that
challenged the “true identity and legal affiliation of the entity
known as the Internal Revenue Service”. In any event,
Mr. Nordbrock was enjoined during the years in issue from
preparing tax returns on behalf of clients. Ms. Nordbrock did
not testify, although most of the checks received in evidence
were signed by her. We are not persuaded that the checks
represent payments for deductible business expenses. Those
expenses relating to investments, to personal taxes, or to
Ms. Nordbrock’s expenses as an employee of Alpha Tax Services
would be deductible, if at all, under section 212 and only to the
extent that the total exceeded 2 percent of petitioners’ adjusted
gross income. See sec. 67(a). The amounts identified by
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011