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intended to evade taxes known to be owing by conduct intended to
conceal, mislead, or otherwise prevent the collection of such
taxes. Webb v. Commissioner, 394 F.2d 366, 377 (5th Cir. 1968),
affg. T.C. Memo. 1966-81. Respondent must prove fraud in each of
the years involved. Drieborg v. Commissioner, 225 F.2d 216, 220
(6th Cir. 1955), affg. in part and revg. in part on other grounds
a Memorandum Opinion of this Court dated Feb. 24, 1954. Fraud is
never presumed; it must be established by affirmative evidence.
Beaver v. Commissioner, 55 T.C. 85, 92 (1970). Since direct
evidence of fraud rarely is available, respondent may prove each
petitioner’s fraud by circumstantial evidence. Scallen v.
Commissioner, 877 F.2d 1364, 1370 (8th Cir. 1989), affg. T.C.
Memo. 1987-412; Klassie v. United States, 289 F.2d 96, 101 (8th
Cir. 1961).
Courts have identified numerous factors, sometimes referred
to as indicia or badges of fraud, which may be persuasive
circumstantial evidence of fraud. See, e.g., Niedringhaus v.
Commissioner, 99 T.C. 202, 211 (1992); Petzoldt v. Commissioner,
supra at 700. We focus on those indicia that appear to be most
significant in the context of the record in the instant cases.
Although no single factor is necessarily sufficient to establish
fraud, a combination of several factors is persuasive
circumstantial evidence of fraud. Bradford v. Commissioner, 796
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