L.S. Vines - Page 20

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               Section 301.9100-3(b)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs., defines              
          reasonableness and good faith as follows:                                   
                    (b) Reasonable action and good faith.-- (1) In                    
               general.-- Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3)(i)                  
               through (iii) of this section, a taxpayer is deemed to                 
               have acted reasonably and in good faith if the                         
               taxpayer–                                                              
                    (i) Requests relief under this section before  the                
                    failure to make the regulatory election is                        
                    discovered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);                 
                    (ii) Failed to make the election because of                       
                    intervening events beyond the taxpayer’s control;                 
                    (iii) Failed to make the election, because after                  
                    exercising reasonable diligence (taking into                      
                    account the taxpayer’s experience and the                         
                    complexity of the return or issue), the taxpayer                  
                    was unaware of the necessity for the election;                    
                    (iv) Reasonably relied on the written advice of                   
                    the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); or                            
                    (v) Reasonably relied on a qualified tax                          
                    professional, including a tax professional                        
                    employed by the taxpayer, and the tax professional                
                    failed to make, or advise the taxpayer to make,                   
                    the election.  [Emphasis added.]                                  
          The benchmarks for reasonableness and good faith in section                 
          301.9100-3(b)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs., are disjunctive; i.e.,            
          the taxpayer need satisfy only subdivision (i), (ii), (iii),                
          (iv), or (v) in order to be deemed to have acted reasonably and             
          in good faith.  In the instant case, petitioner satisfies at                
          least three of the regulation’s benchmarks.                                 
               Regarding section 301.9100-3(b)(1)(i), Proced. & Admin.                
          Regs., there is no question that petitioner requested relief                






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