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Commissioner, 75 T.C. 1 (1980); Coulter v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1992-224. An extended pattern of failing to file income
tax returns, however, may be persuasive circumstantial evidence
of fraud. Marsellus v. Commissioner, 544 F.2d 883, 885 (5th Cir.
1977), affg. T.C. Memo. 1975-368; Stoltzfus v. United States, 398
F.2d 1002 (3d Cir. 1968); Grosshandler v. Commissioner, supra;
Coulter v. Commissioner, supra. Further, when a taxpayer’s
failure to file for several years is viewed in light of his or
her previous filing of income tax returns for prior years, the
taxpayer’s nonfiling weighs heavily against him or her because
the taxpayer is aware of the requirement. Castillo v.
Commissioner, 84 T.C. 405 (1985). As discussed in the preceding
paragraph, the Masons did not file income tax returns after their
return for 1987 until they filed their return for 1996 in October
1997. They failed to file their income tax return for 1995 until
March 1999, and then only after respondent began a criminal
investigation against the Masons for failure to file. The
Masons’ pattern of failing to file when viewed in light of their
history of filing timely income tax returns for almost 40
consecutive years is evidence of petitioner’s fraudulent intent
to evade tax liability. Further, given the Masons’ association
with Meador, we reject petitioner’s argument that their failure
to file was reasonable because they lacked sufficient funds to
pay the tax and they believed taxpayers were only required to
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