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(where Grey testified that he was unaware of the Tex. Carbonate
Co. v. Phinney, supra, case until posttrial briefing, during the
fall of 2001, in Joseph M. Grey Pub. Accountant, P.C. v.
Commissioner, 119 T.C. 121 (2002)). Petitioner failed to
establish that it relied on judicial precedent or, for that
matter, on any of the other sources specified in Section
530(a)(2)(A). Accordingly, we conclude that subparagraph (A)
does not aid petitioner here.
The same result obtains with respect to subparagraphs (B)
and (C). There is no evidence that respondent audited petitioner
for employment tax purposes prior to the examination underlying
the present case. Petitioner therefore cannot show reliance on a
past audit under Section 530(a)(2)(B). Likewise, petitioner has
adduced no evidence of conventions in the water filtration and
purification industry to establish longstanding industry practice
under Section 530(a)(2)(C). The safe havens of Section 530(a)(2)
are therefore inapplicable on the record before us.
In seeking to establish a reasonable basis for Ridge’s
treatment apart from the safe havens, petitioner quotes from the
following definition of “employment status” in Section 530(c)(2):
“The term ‘employment status’ means the status of an individual,
under the usual common law rules applicable in determining the
employer-employee relationship, as an employee or as an
independent contractor (or other individual who is not an
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