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admitted on brief that the deductions at issue were not based on
books and records and even acknowledged at trial that they
questioned Mr. Beltran regarding certain expenses that they had
not claimed as deductions on prior years' returns. Petitioners
did not look beyond Mr. Beltran's representations. The Court is
satisfied that petitioners knew that they could only claim
deductions that could be substantiated, and, even if they did not
know that, at the very least, the representations that such
deductions could be claimed without documentation should have
prompted them to verify the accuracy of such a representation
with a qualified preparer. In addition, petitioners' failure to
question Mr. Beltran's representations that noncash charitable
contributions could be lumped in or considered as cash
contributions should have raised additional questions as the
income tax forms clearly specify the need for an additional form
and other information where such contributions exceed $500.
Moreover, the amounts claimed for unreimbursed employee expenses
were clearly disproportionate to petitioner's wages, which also
should have merited further inquiry. Petitioner's failure to
claim reimbursement from his employer for at least some of his
expenses casts further doubt that such expenses were in fact
incurred. These facts demonstrate to the Court that petitioners
made no reasonable effort to ascertain their correct tax
liability for the years at issue. Stubblefield v. Commissioner,
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