- 22 - bears the burden of production and must come forward with sufficient evidence to show that the additions to tax and the penalty are appropriate. Higbee v. Commissioner, 116 T.C. 438, 446 (2001). However, respondent does not bear the burden of proof as to the additions to tax and the penalty, and once he meets his initial burden of production, petitioner must come forward with evidence sufficient to persuade us that those additions to tax and the penalty do not apply. Id. at 447. Section 6651(a)(1) provides for an addition to tax in the case of a failure to file a required return on the prescribed due date. Once the Commissioner meets his initial burden of production with respect to this addition to tax, the taxpayer bears the “heavy burden” of proving that the failure to file the required return did not result from willful neglect and that the failure was due to reasonable cause. United States v. Boyle, 469 U.S. 241, 245 (1985); Higbee v. Commissioner, supra at 447. Petitioner did not file Federal income tax returns for her 1995, 1996, and 1997 tax years, and respondent has presented evidence that petitioner received taxable income in amounts sufficient to require her to file returns for those years. Thus, we find that respondent has met his burden of production as to the section 6651(a)(1) additions to tax. Petitioner presented no evidence at trial, and she did not testify regarding her failure to file returns. She asserts only that she did not have taxablePage: Previous 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next
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