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petitioner failed to submit any detailed records to support his
claim that he incurred costs of $5,500 for such items.
Nevertheless, because it is obvious that petitioner incurred some
miscellaneous expenses, we will allow a recovery of $500 for
these items, bearing heavily upon petitioner for his failure to
itemize and substantiate his costs. See O'Bryon v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 2000-379 (applying the doctrine of Cohan v.
Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540, 544 (2d Cir. 1930), to an award of
costs under section 7430); see also Malamed v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1993-1.
5. Punitive Damages
Petitioner claims that he is entitled to an award of $9
million in punitive damages attributable to the reckless conduct
of respondent’s employees in this case. Petitioner cites the
“Taxpayer Bill of Rights” as authority for an award of up to $1
million for each instance in which an IRS employee intentionally
disregards a provision of the Internal Revenue Code.
Section 7433 provides for civil damages for certain
unauthorized collection actions. Section 7433(a) provides that a
taxpayer may bring a civil action for damages against the United
States in a U.S. District Court. The Tax Court is not vested
with jurisdiction to consider petitioner’s claim for punitive
damages under this provision. Accordingly, petitioner’s claim
for punitive damages is denied.
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