Timothy R. Becherer - Page 3

                                        - 3 -                                         
          claim by petitioner under section 6015, respondent’s                        
          determinations contained in the notice of deficiency are not in             
          dispute.                                                                    
               Petitioner knew of Ms. Becherer’s employment with the three            
          employers.  Petitioner occasionally assisted Ms. Becherer in                
          performing her employment duties for Trader Publications and                
          Pennysaver.                                                                 
               When the 1996 Federal income tax return was prepared,                  
          petitioner was a sophomore or junior in college, and Ms. Becherer           
          held a high school general equivalency diploma.  Petitioner had             
          an opportunity to review the 1996 Federal income tax return                 
          before the return was filed.  Petitioner currently holds a degree           
          in communications from the University of Miami and is employed as           
          a video editor for E-Entertainment Network.                                 
                                     Discussion                                       
               In general, spouses filing joint Federal income tax returns            
          are jointly and severally liable for all taxes due.  Sec.                   
          6013(d)(3).  Under certain circumstances, however, section 6015             
          provides relief from this general rule.  Except as otherwise                
          provided in section 6015, petitioner bears the burden of proof.3            




               3  Petitioner does not contend that sec. 7491(a) is                    
          applicable to this case, nor is there evidence that the                     
          examination commenced after July 22, 1998.  Also, we note that              
          some documents in the record indicate that the examination began            
          prior to July 22, 1998.                                                     




Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011