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year in issue exceeded the sum of the standard deduction and
personal exemption. Sec. 6012(a)(1). Accordingly, petitioner
was required to file income tax returns for taxable years 1998
through 2002.
A taxpayer may claim married filing jointly status if he and
his spouse are legally eligible to file jointly and in fact do
file. See secs. (1)(a), 6013; Columbus v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1998-60, affd. without published opinion 162 F.3d 1172
(10th Cir. 1998). Petitioner did not file tax returns during
each year in issue. As noted above, petitioner was given
multiple opportunities to present corroborating evidence
regarding his marital status but stubbornly refused to do so. We
therefore do not accept petitioner’s uncorroborated assertion of
his marital status. Consequently, we hold that petitioner has
failed to prove that his filing status is not that of an
unmarried individual. Rule 142(a); Welch v. Helvering, supra.
Accordingly, petitioner is not entitled to married filing jointly
status.
A taxpayer filing a separate return may claim an exemption
for his spouse if his spouse has no gross income and is not the
dependent of another taxpayer. Sec. 151(b). Petitioner contends
that he is entitled to claim his spouse as a dependent. Even
assuming that petitioner is married, petitioner presented no
evidence that his spouse does not have any income of her own.
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