- 22 - underpayment which the taxpayer establishes is not attributable to fraud. Secs. 6653(b)(2), 6663(b). A. Underpayment The Commissioner has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that an underpayment exists in each of the years in issue. The Commissioner is not required to prove the exact amount of the underpayment. DiLeo v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. at 873. On the other hand, the Commissioner does not satisfy his burden of proof by merely relying on the taxpayer’s failure to prove error in the determination. Id. On the basis of the evidence presented and our analysis supra, we find that respondent has clearly and convincingly established that petitioner had underpayments of tax in 1988, 1989, and 1990. B. Underpayment Due to Fraud Fraud has been defined as an “intentional wrongdoing on the part of a taxpayer motivated by a specific purpose to evade a tax known or believed to be owing.” Stoltzfus v. United States, 398 F.2d 1002, 1004 (3d Cir. 1968); see also Langworthy v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-218. Courts consider a taxpayer’s entire course of conduct in determining fraudulent intent. DiLeo v. Commissioner, supra at 874; Petzoldt v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 661, 699 (1989). Because direct evidence is rarely available, fraud may be proven by circumstantial evidence. DiLeo v.Page: Previous 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011