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petitioners referred all correspondence to Mr. Beltran, who had
promised to "take care" of the problem, which he failed to do.
On this record, the Court sustains respondent on the section
6662(a) accuracy-related penalties for the 2 years at issue.
Section 6673(a) authorizes the Court to require a taxpayer
to pay to the United States a penalty not exceeding $25,000 when,
in the Court's judgment, proceedings have been instituted or
maintained by the taxpayer primarily for delay or where the
taxpayer's position in the proceeding is frivolous or groundless.
The Court considers petitioners' claim that they should not be
liable for the deficiencies and penalties to be frivolous and
groundless. Petitioners knew, or should have known, that a
substantial portion of the itemized deductions at issue was false
and could not be sustained. Other circumstances noted above need
not be repeated here.
The function of this Court is to provide a forum to decide
issues relating to liability for Federal taxes. Any reasonable
and prudent person, under the facts presented to the Court,
should have known that the claimed deductions could not have been
sustained, and the Court is satisfied that petitioners knew that.
We do not and should not countenance the use of this Court as a
vehicle for a disgruntled litigant to proclaim the wrongdoing of
another, his return preparer, as a basis for relief from a
penalty that was determined by respondent on facts that clearly
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Last modified: May 25, 2011