John S. Cooper, Jr. - Page 7

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          income tax deficiency for 20025 is $8,044 (“required annual                 
          payment”), petitioner’s withholding from wages was $819, and he             
          made no payments of estimated tax.  Clearly he has not made the             
          required annual payment of the statute.  There are other                    
          exceptions to the obligation to make estimated tax payments set             
          forth in section 6654, but we do not find  that petitioner comes            
          within those exceptions.  Accordingly, we hold that petitioner is           
          liable for the section 6654(a) addition to tax for failure to               
          make estimated tax payments.                                                
               Finally, we consider respondent’s oral motion that sanctions           
          be awarded under section 6673 due to petitioner’s advancing                 
          frivolous and groundless arguments and/or maintaining this                  
          proceeding for delay.  On at least two occasions prior to trial,            
          respondent advised petitioner that section 6673 sanctions would             
          be sought in this case.  On brief, petitioner contended that his            
          position is not frivolous.  He states:  “Mere questions about               
          what laws, information, and procedures the respondent                       
          relied upon to conclude a deficiency exists [do] not constitute a           
          frivolous position or argument.”                                            
               Petitioner here has made a concentrated effort to avoid the            
          payment of his Federal tax obligation.  He did not file a 2002              

               5 Other measures of the required annual payment are                    
          inapplicable because respondent produced evidence that petitioner           
          failed to file a return for his 2001 and 2002 tax years.  See               
          sec. 6654(d)(1)(B)(i) and (ii); Nicholls v. Commissioner, T.C.              
          Memo. 2006-218.                                                             





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