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significantly benefit beyond normal support in 1993.
In 1996, the couple owed taxes of $43,255 on adjusted gross
income of $189,765.7 Most of this income came from the sale of
the lowboy and truck. Whether the proceeds of that sale went to
settle the Sadler lawsuit or to construction on the Hydraulics
Center is not clear. If the money went to settle the lawsuit,
Motsko certainly benefited by being relieved of that debt. If it
went to the Hydraulics Center, he may not have received any
significant benefit if Manns’s paperwork actually deprived him of
any interest in that business. Yet even with his equity in the
Hydraulics Center in dispute, he admitted that the Center was at
the very least a main source of his income. Our decision on this
factor for 1996 therefore flows from the burden of proof--Motsko
had it, and he didn't show where the money went, so we find that
he did not prove that he received no significant benefit.
Attribution: For 1993, the total AGI reported was $56,968;
the revenue agent attributed 68% of this amount, or $38,992, to
Motsko’s work in Evergreen Trucking, which the agent deemed to be
Motsko’s Schedule C business. For 1996, the couple reported
total AGI of $189,765; this included $158,684 from Evergreen
Trucking’s sale of the truck and lowboy, and another $546 from
Evergreen Trucking. This gave Motsko, in the agent’s estimation,
7 The couple’s taxable income was $169,069, making their
tax assessed $47,141. However, the Motskos had paid withholding
and excess FICA of $4,141, making their overall tax due for 1996
$43,255.
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