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effective mark-to-market election for that year under section
475(f)(1), his 1999 net loss from purchases and sales of
securities would be a capital loss deductible only to the extent
of $3,000. See secs. 165(f), 1211(b)(1).
II. Arguments of the Parties
A. Petitioner’s Argument
Petitioner argues that, by virtue of the volume and short-
term nature of his securities trades during 1999, the time
devoted daily to his trading activities, and his substantial
investment in software used to provide information regarding up-
to-the-minute market conditions, he qualified as a “trader in
securities” for purposes of section 475(f)(1).4
Petitioner further argues that, because he was, in fact, a
trader as of January 1, 1999, and was unaware of the requirement
to timely elect mark-to-market accounting under section 475(f) in
order to treat his trading losses as fully deductible ordinary
losses under section 165(c)(1), he should be permitted to make an
untimely, retroactive election under that section. We interpret
petitioner’s “request” to “implement” mark-to-market accounting
and his defense of his right to do so untimely as, in substance,
an argument that we must find that (1) the election of mark-to-
market accounting attached to petitioner’s return was an informal
4 The term “trader in securities” is not further defined in
sec. 475 or in the regulations interpreting that section.
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