- 29 -
but less than 80 percent, by obtaining a full deduction for the
average expenses related to truck parking, showers, motels,
laundry and Federal Express, in addition to a 50-percent
deduction for the portion of the per diem allocated to meals.
Using the testimony of the drivers, petitioners estimate the
average daily nonmeal expenses at $7.61 per day per driver, for
an additional deduction of $367,836 for 1995, $353,317 for 1996,
and $354,527 for 1997.
In support of this argument, petitioners rely on a sentence
in Beech Trucking Co. v. Commissioner, supra at 450, which
petitioners interpret as an “outline of proof” for success in
future cases:
Having relied exclusively upon the deemed
substantiation methods provided in the Revenue
Procedures, petitioner has offered no independent
substantiation of the amounts of lodging or incidental
expenses that the Beech Trucking drivers might have
incurred, or otherwise established any reasonable basis
for allocating the per diem payments to meals,
incidentals, and lodging expenses incurred by the
drivers.30
__________
30 In particular, the record does not establish
the number of days per trip that the drivers would
normally pay for separate lodging or for incidentals
such as showers, laundry, local transportation, or
overnight parking. As previously noted, it appears
that at least some of the trips for which Beech
Trucking paid per diem allowances involved no overnight
travel.
Petitioners misinterpret our description of the lack of
evidence in Beech Trucking Co. as establishing a legal rule for
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