Barbara Deaton - Page 21

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          in the record that Mr. Wellman, the author of that letter, was              
          involved in any way with the filing of the 1993 Form 4868 in                
          April 1994 or was otherwise involved in petitioners’ affairs at             
          that time.  Had petitioners gone to trial, they presumably could            
          have elicited the testimony of Mr. Chambers (the C.P.A. whose               
          signature appears on the 1993 Form 4868) regarding the                      
          circumstances that allegedly rendered their 1993 tax liability              
          inestimable as of April 1994.  Because petitioners chose not to             
          do so, we may presume that such testimony would have been                   
          unfavorable to them.  See, e.g., ASAT, Inc. v. Commissioner, 108            
          T.C. 147, 172 (1997) (citing Wichita Terminal Elevator Co. v.               
          Commissioner, 6 T.C. 1158, 1165 (1946), affd. 162 F.2d 513 (10th            
          Cir. 1947)).  Relying on the C.P.A. letter, petitioners have                
          failed to convince us that, as of April 1994, their 1993 tax                
          liability was inestimable and the 1994 remittance was intended as           
          a deposit.                                                                  
                    3.  Inconsistencies Between the C.P.A. Letter and                 
                   Petitioners’ 1993 Return                                           
               Moreover, the C.P.A. letter itself does not square with                
          information from petitioners’ 1993 return contained in the                  
          record.  For instance, the 1993 return belies the assertion in              
          the C.P.A. letter that petitioners’ ignorance of their 1993 tax             
          liability in April 1994 was attributable to the sale of their               
          business in, and “numerous other complicated transactions                   
          during”, 1993.  The only sale referenced in the 1993 return is an           





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