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basis in both law and fact. See Maggie Mgmt. Co. v. Commissioner,
108 T.C. 430, 443 (1997). Respondent is entitled to a reasonable
amount of time to evaluate information before changing his
position or conceding an issue. See Sokol v. Commissioner, 92
T.C. 760, 766-768 (1989).
We conclude that respondent’s position was reasonable and
substantially justified in both the administrative and litigation
proceedings. A significant factor in determining whether the
Commissioner’s position is substantially justified as of a given
date is whether the taxpayer has presented all relevant
information under the taxpayer’s control to the appropriate IRS
personnel. Sec. 301.7430-5(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs.
Petitioners failed to provide the requisite information about Dr.
Cowie for respondent to verify that all the income from the
brokerage account had been reported before September 5, 2005.
Petitioners allege that on that date they sent to respondent a
facsimile containing that information, but respondent’s counsel
did not have that information until after the answer was filed.
Once respondent’s counsel sent the requisite information to the
Appeals Office, respondent conceded the instant case.
Accordingly, we hold that respondent’s position in the
administrative and litigation proceedings was substantially
justified, and that petitioners are not entitled to recover their
administrative or litigation costs.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007