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to assess his or her proper tax liability. Id. Under some
circumstances, reasonable cause may be established when a
taxpayer shows that he or she reasonably relied on the advice of
an independent and competent tax professional. United States v.
Boyle, 469 U.S. 241, 250-251 (1985); Weis v. Commissioner, 94
T.C. 473, 487 (1990); Peete v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-31;
sec. 1.6664-4(b)(1), Income Tax Regs.
We do not believe that petitioners have satisfied their
burden of proof in regard to the reasonable cause exception. As
stated earlier, while we have given careful consideration to the
arguments set forth by petitioners’ counsel, Mr. Morford, we
cannot overlook petitioners’ failure to appear at trial and
provide testimony on the facts underlying their participation in
the Hoyt cattle operation and the reasonableness behind the
underpayments of tax on their income tax returns for 1994 and
1995.
The limited facts that are part of the record do not support
a finding that petitioners acted with reasonable cause and in
good faith. Petitioners were college-educated professionals who
must have realized that the overall benefits they received from
their investment in the Hoyt cattle operation were simply “too
good to be true”. Although they were not associated with the
Hoyt cattle operation until October 1995, petitioners claimed
$184,000 in cattle losses on their 1994 income tax return.
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