- 14 - (3) Taxpayer has not encouraged others to refuse to comply with the tax laws. For purposes of appraising respondent’s exercise of discretion, we consider petitioner’s circumstances, as presented to the Appeals Office, in light of the foregoing standards. The regulations emphasize economic hardship, and petitioner throughout these proceedings has generally asserted her lack of ability to pay. Economic hardship is defined as an inability to meet reasonable basic living expenses. Sec. 301.6343-1(b)(4), Proced. & Admin. Regs. Petitioner in her Form 433-A alleged an estimated monthly income of $2,000, comprising $1,500 in earnings as an artist’s model and $500 in distributions from the trust. The Form 433-A further showed estimated monthly expenses of $1,975.50, including $250 for food, clothing, and miscellaneous; $1,016.50 for housing and utilities; $62 for transportation; $40 for health care; $557 for taxes; and $50 for other expenses. Yet petitioner submitted bank statements reflecting miscellaneous expenditures and cash withdrawals of at least $1,500 to $1,800 per month, which amounts apparently exclude rental expenses. A number of the outlays are to establishments that provide other than “basic necessities”, such as Castle Wine & Spirits, Sea Grape Wine & Spirits, Ryan’s Irish Pub, Rockefeller Center Cafe, Borders Books & Music, Tower Records, World of Video, Triton Video, Radio Shack, The Gap, and Speedo Authentic Fitness. The discrepancy between the seemingPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011