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vague claim that his 1992 and 1993 business records also "became
the records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation because of the
ensuing investigation". In any event, since petitioner concedes
the records were returned in 1995, the linchpin of his missing
records rationale is that Mrs. Braun discarded them. Yet she did
not testify at or even attend the trial.5
Third, petitioner pled guilty to income tax evasion and mail
fraud, which are crimes involving dishonesty. See Fed. R. Evid.
609(a)(2).
Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, when questioned how he
supported himself, his wife, and three children if the expenses
of his business offset its income except to the extent of $960 in
1992 and $1,447 in 1993, petitioner was vague and nonresponsive.
Given their magnitude in relation to reported income, the
expenses petitioner claims to have incurred are not credible.
Fifth, even if we were persuaded that petitioners incurred
rental expenses for the years in issue, we must have some
rational basis on which to estimate them. See Vanicek v.
Commissioner, 85 T.C. at 742-743. Petitioners offered no
evidence that the claimed rent of $1,000 per month (of which
5 Mrs. Braun is a party in this case, represented by
counsel, and jointly liable for any deficiencies that are
redetermined herein. As noted earlier, if petitioner's testimony
concerning the discarding of the records by Mrs. Braun is
accepted, then Mrs. Braun failed to comply with record-keeping
requirements.
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