-8-
Respondent argues that the Court should admit Exhibit 1-R
into evidence pursuant to rule 807 of the Federal Rules of
Evidence. That rule allows admission of a statement not
expressly within any of the other exceptions to the hearsay rule
when the statement is material and probative and when “the
interests of justice will best be served by admission of the
statement into evidence.” The documents underlying Exhibit 1-R
are both material and probative of the issue of whether
petitioner had unreported taxable income, and petitioner does not
deny that he was paid the wages referenced in those documents.
Given the circumstantial guaranties of trustworthiness present in
this case, the inability of respondent to procure a custodian of
the records of the bankrupt Efeckta, and the lack of any evidence
in the record to suggest that the payroll summaries are anything
other than what they purport to be, we shall admit the documents
into evidence.6 See Karme v. Commissioner, 673 F.2d 1062, 1065
(9th Cir. 1982) (Fed. R. Evid. 807 authorizes a court to admit a
record into evidence so long as the record is material,
probative, and trustworthy), affg. 73 T.C. 1163 (1980); see also
6 Petitioner had fair opportunity to challenge the documents
underlying Exhibit 1-R in advance of trial but did not take that
opportunity. Respondent’s pretrial memorandum gave notice to
petitioner of the possibility of respondent’s introducing
evidence that might be supplied by the custodian of records for
Efeckta. Petitioner had sufficient time to call witnesses to
testify at trial on the matter of the payroll records of Efeckta.
Finally, Exhibit 1-R involves a matter which should be familiar
to petitioner; namely, petitioner’s own income for 2002.
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