- 5 -
that his argument possesses some degree of colorable merit. See
Crain v. Commissioner, 737 F.2d 1417 (5th Cir. 1984). In short,
petitioner is a taxpayer subject to the income tax laws, and he
is liable for income tax on the compensation and other income
paid to him during the year in question. His argument is
rejected.
The second issue is whether petitioner is liable for the
addition to tax under section 6651(a)(1). Section 6651(a)(1)
imposes an addition to tax for a taxpayer's failure to file
timely returns, unless the taxpayer can establish that such
failure "is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
neglect". As noted earlier, petitioner's return was not
processed as a return by respondent. The purported return listed
only zeros as income. There are a host of cases where returns
that showed no income have been held not to be "returns", and the
penalty for failure to file was imposed. Turner v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 2004-251; Halcott v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-
214; Green v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1992-49; Howell v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1981-631. Where a purported return does
not contain any information upon which the tax can be computed,
the submitted form does not constitute a return. Turk v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1991-198. Respondent, therefore, is
sustained on the addition to tax under section 6651(a)(1).
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011