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respondent with any information that would enable respondent to
properly determine petitioner’s tax liability.
OPINION
A. Burden of Proof
Generally, respondent’s deficiency determinations set forth
in the notices of deficiency are presumed correct, and petitioner
bears the burden of showing that the determination is in error.
Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111, 115 (1933). There
are exceptions to that Rule. Section 7491 shifts the burden of
proof to respondent if the taxpayer meets certain preliminary
conditions. Here, not only did petitioner fail to cooperate with
respondent in any regard, but he did not produce one scintilla of
evidence with respect to any matter in this case. See sec.
7491(a). Therefore, section 7491(a) does not apply in this case.
Another case in which the burden may shift to respondent
concerns the determination that there is unreported income.
Under the holdings of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit (to which an appeal would normally lie for petitioner)
respondent is required to build an evidentiary foundation to
support a determination of unreported income. See Weimerskirch
v. Commissioner, 596 F.2d 358 (9th Cir. 1979), revg. 67 T.C. 672
(1977). Respondent issued subpoenas to six of petitioner’s
former employers. At trial, to substantiate the determination
that petitioner received the income alleged, respondent provided
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