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failure or reckless indifference.” United States v. Boyle, supra
at 245. “Whether the elements that constitute ‘reasonable cause’
are present in a given situation” to excuse a failure to file
timely is a question of fact. Id. at 249 n.8 (emphasis omitted).
The Court concludes that respondent’s burden of production
has been met. Petitioner admits that he had sufficient gross
income to require the filing of a Federal income tax return and
that he never filed his 2000 tax return. The burden then shifts
to the taxpayer to prove both that the failure to file was not
due to willful neglect and that such failure was due to
reasonable cause. Id. at 245.
Reasonable cause denotes an absence of fault. Id. at 247
n.4. A taxpayer must prove that his failure to file timely was
the “result neither of carelessness, reckless indifference, nor
intentional failure.” Id. “Generally, factors that constitute
‘reasonable cause’ include unavoidable postal delays, death or
serious illness of the taxpayer or a member of his immediate
family, or reliance on the mistaken legal opinion of a competent
tax adviser, lawyer, or accountant that it was not necessary to
file a return.” Marrin v. Commissioner, 147 F.3d 147, 152 (2d
Cir. 1998), affg. T.C. Memo. 1997-24. These factors are
inapplicable here.
The Court is convinced that initially petitioner acted as a
reasonable and prudent business person and put forth reasonable
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