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On December 9, 2004, respondent scheduled a Branerton
conference with petitioner regarding respondent’s adjustments to
petitioners’ 1999 and 2000 amended returns. See Branerton Corp.
v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. 691 (1974). Petitioner was unable to
attend the meeting, but his attorney-in-fact, Mr. Mattatall,
attended in his place.7 At the meeting, Mr. Mattatall produced
four “Affidavits of Fact” that summarily declared, among other
things, that all of the claimed losses, deductions, and
7At the time of this trial, Mr. Mattatall had been enjoined
by the United States from directly or indirectly “acting as a
return preparer or assisting in or directing the preparation of
federal tax returns for any person or entity other than himself,
or further appearing as a representative on behalf of any person
or organization whose tax liabilities [are] under examination by
the IRS.” United States v. Mattatall, No. CV 03-07016 DDP
(PJWx), at 6 (C.D. Cal., Aug. 17, 2004) (order granting
plaintiff’s motion for contempt and second amended injunction of
which we take judicial notice pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 201). In
a footnote to the order, the U.S. District Court for the Central
District of California provided the following pertinent
explanation:
In support of its position, the Government attaches the
transcript of an interview between the IRS and a
taxpayer who brought Mattatall along as his return
preparer and representative. At the interview,
[Mattatall] insisted that the taxpayer could choose to
submit an affidavit that his tax return was correct,
and that regardless of the IRS’s request for documents
or other information, the affidavit is all that the
taxpayer need provide. The Government argues that
Mattatall’s position is frivolous, and the Court
agrees. Section 7602 of the Internal Revenue Code
authorizes the IRS to examine “any books, papers,
records, or other data” which “may be relevant” to an
inquiry into “the correctness of any [tax] return.” 26
U.S.C. �7602(a)(1). [Mattatall’s] assertion that an
affidavit is sufficient is unfounded.
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