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The 1998 return prepared by Mr. Beltran reflected an
overpayment of $3,983, an amount which surprised petitioner. He
questioned Mr. Beltran about the size of the refund, as he
testified at trial:
How do you get that much money back? I haven't been getting
that type of return back myself. I don't know that much
about taxes. That's why I'm hiring you, but how does that
work? How do you do that? Well, Mr. White, that's why
you're hiring a tax professional. That's why you come to a
CPA. Because I study this for a living.
There are loopholes that you can't find on your own
that I can find for you. Therefore, you have a larger
return, and because I'm able to find those loopholes for
you, you'll keep coming back to me. And by the way, if you
can refer people to me and tell them what a good job I've
done for you, I'll give you a break on next year's taxes.
Mr. Beltran, you're a wonderful guy. Thank you for
your assistance. How can I spread your name around? Well,
let me give you a stack of cards. And of course, he gives
me a stack of cards, Robin the tax man.
So I start telling other people about him and talking
to other people that have used him before. Yes. He did the
same thing for me. He did a great job. So that was '98, I
believe. I used him for 1999. I used him for the year
2000. Did not realize that there was a problem until 2001,
when I got the first notice of audit, and then all alarms
went off.
In spite of his reservations about the refunds for the 2
years in question, petitioner did not review the returns or
ascertain what deductions claimed on the returns accounted for
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