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house as Mr. Bennett until May 8, 2000, the date their divorce
became final.
Petitioner spoke little or no English when she immigrated to
the United States. Even at the time of trial petitioner had
somewhat limited proficiency in English. She placed her trust in
and completely relied on Mr. Bennett to manage their household
and financial matters. She often signed documents at the request
of Mr. Bennett without knowing or understanding what she was
signing. During the year at issue, Mr. Bennett was employed as
general manager of and possibly had an ownership interest in
Premium Fresh Juice & Food Co. (Premium Fresh Juice).
During the tax year 1998, petitioner and Mr. Bennett were
married and living together in California, a community property
State. Petitioner and Mr. Bennett filed separate Federal income
tax returns for 1998, each claiming a filing status of married
filing separately. Petitioner’s 1998 return provided Mr.
Bennett’s name and Social Security number. The return reported
gross income of $34,288 ($31,385 of taxable wages, $723 of
taxable interest, and $2,180 from a taxable IRA distribution), a
total tax of $3,372, total payments of $624, and a tax due of
$2,870.1 Attached to her 1998 return was a Form W-2, Wage and
Tax Statement, from Columbia Cleaning Co. (Columbia Cleaning),
1 The tax due reflected a $122 estimated tax penalty.
Petitioner claimed $8,546 in itemized deductions for the year and
a deduction of $2,000 for an IRA contribution.
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