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file their return. Respondent has met his burden under section
7491(c) by establishing petitioners’ late filing.
To avoid the addition to tax for filing a late return,
petitioners have the burden of proving that the failure to file
did not result from willful neglect and that the failure was due
to reasonable cause. See United States v. Boyle, 469 U.S. 241,
245 (1985). To prove reasonable cause, a taxpayer must show that
he or she exercised ordinary business care and prudence but
nevertheless could not file the return when it was due. See
Crocker v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 899, 913 (1989); sec. 301.6651-
1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs.
Petitioners argue against the imposition of the addition to
tax by claiming that they were not in possession of the records
and that they “suffered tragedies in the loss of close
relatives.” Although petitioner testified that his father died
in 1997 and that his mother-in-law and sister-in-law had both
died, it is unclear from the record exactly when these events
occurred. In any event, petitioner continued to carry on a
business throughout the tax year, making a considerable income
from the business. A taxpayer's selective inability to perform
his or her tax obligations, while performing regular business,
does not excuse failure to file. See, e.g., Watts v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-416; Wright v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1998-224, affd. 173 F.3d 848 (2d Cir. 1999). Petitioners’
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