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Petitioner argues that it was Exabyte’s failure to correctly
report his Social Security number on his Forms W-2, rather than
his failure to file the returns, that resulted in respondent’s
lack of records of his filing tax returns. According to the
record in this case, Exabyte corrected the Social Security number
on petitioner’s Forms W-2 at the end of 1998. Petitioner
testified that Exabyte alerted him to the error in August 1999
and that he provided the documentation required to correct the
error.
Respondent’s search included not only petitioner’s correct
Social Security number, but also encompassed the “wrong” Social
Security number reported by Exabyte4 as well as the Social
Security number for petitioner’s wife. Respondent did not find
any returns filed under any of the Social Security numbers. In
support of its determination that petitioner failed to file
returns for the years at issue, respondent presented three
Certificates of Lack of Record for Federal income tax, one for
each of the Social Security numbers searched, for tax periods
December 31, 1995, through December 31, 1997. In light of
respondent’s evidence, the Court is not convinced that it was
Exabyte’s error, rather than petitioner’s failure to file the
returns, that caused the respondent’s searches to indicate that
petitioner’s returns were not filed.
4Respondent represented that the Social Security number
belonged to a different taxpayer who also failed to file returns
for 1995, 1996, and 1997.
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