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“credible evidence” to support their personal
deductions of the real property tax payments
at issue. [Id.6]
The relevant legislative history provides that once a
taxpayer has introduced credible evidence sufficient to place the
burden of proof on the Commissioner: “If after evidence from both
sides, the court believes that the evidence is equally balanced,
the court shall find that the Secretary has not sustained his
burden of proof.” H. Conf. Rept. 105-599, at 241 (1998), 1998-3
C.B. 747, 995. The record before us now is the same as was
before us originally and as was before the Court of Appeals. The
Court of Appeals has found petitioners’ evidence credible.
Whatever adverse inferences we might draw from the evidence
6 In reaching this conclusion, the Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit did not expressly differentiate between Mr.
Griffin’s direct and cross-examination testimony. In the absence
of any contrary indication, we assume that the Court of Appeals
considered both Mr. Griffin’s direct and cross-examination
testimony.
We do not construe the opinion of the Court of Appeals as
standing for the proposition that, in assessing the credibility
of evidence for purposes of deciding the placement of the burden
of proof pursuant to sec. 7491(a)(1), the trial court is required
to accept at face value self-serving testimony which it finds
unworthy of belief. See, e.g., Day v. Commissioner, 975 F.2d
534, 538 (8th Cir. 1992) (stating that “The Tax Court is not
required to give credence to the self-serving testimony of
interested parties.”), affg. in part, revg. in part and remanding
T.C. Memo. 1991-140. As stated in the relevant legislative
history of sec. 7491: “The introduction of evidence will not
meet this standard [of credible evidence] if the court is not
convinced that it is worthy of belief.” H. Conf. Rept. 105-599,
at 241 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 747, 995; cf. Kincade v. Mikles, 144
F.2d 784, 787 (8th Cir. 1944) (“As to the contention that the
evidence is unworthy of belief, it need only be said that it was
the function of the trial court to pass upon the credibility of
the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony.”).
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