-17- taxable year for which the deduction is claimed. Id. Petitioner bears the burden of proving that the alleged custom house theft loss occurred and that the requirements of section 165 have been met. Allen v. Commissioner, 16 T.C. 163, 166-167 (1951). In order to carry his burden, petitioner must establish, inter alia, the existence of a theft within the meaning of section 165 and the amount of the claimed theft loss. See Elliott v. Commissioner, 40 T.C. 304, 311 (1963). Whether certain actions constitute theft for purposes of section 165 depends on the law defining the crime of theft in the jurisdic- tion where the alleged theft occurred. Monteleone v. Commis- sioner, 34 T.C. 688, 692 (1960). It is petitioner’s position that he is entitled to a deduc- tion under section 165 for taxable year 2000 with respect to the alleged custom house theft loss in an unspecified amount in excess of the $256,975 deduction that he claimed in petitioner’s Form 1040 for 2000. In support of that position, petitioner argues that (1) Mona Builders’ actions with respect to the custom house constituted theft under applicable Maryland law; (2) petitioner discovered the alleged custom house theft loss in October 2000; (3) the amount of the alleged custom house theft loss exceeds by an unspecified amount the $256,975 theft loss that petitioner claimed as a deduction in petitioner’s Form 1040 for 2000; and (4) petitioner did not have at the end of 2000 aPage: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Next
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