Michael J. Downing and Sandra M. Downing - Page 27

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          motion was made to add evidence to the record which should have             
          been introduced or stipulated at an earlier time.                           
               We granted petitioners’ motion to reopen the record but only           
          to the extent of certain concessions made by respondent; we                 
          denied that motion in all other respects.  The record then was              
          closed, and our opinion in Downing I was later issued.                      
               Respondent states that petitioners had in their possession             
          before the trial all the evidence which they sought to have                 
          admitted into the record by their motion, and respondent argues:            
          “They cannot be heard to complain at this late date that they               
          were unfairly disadvantaged by having to check their own records            
          against schedules prepared by respondent.”  Even so, respondent             
          made numerous concessions on matters raised in petitioners’                 
          motion.  See Downing I, nn. 24-27.                                          
               Some of respondent’s concessions reflect errors that had               
          been earlier made by respondent, which respondent both implicitly           
          and expressly acknowledges.  Each of the error corrections was in           
          petitioners’ favor.  The net effects of respondent’s concessions            
          were to reduce unreported income for 1994 by almost $500, and for           
          1995 by more than $8,000.  These amounts are not trivial in the             
          context of the instant case.                                                
               Petitioners should have noticed and corrected errors in the            
          stipulation document before signing it, and they should have                
          offered all evidence by the end of the trial.  However, given the           






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