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his participation in that venture. We hold that petitioner was
negligent both in participating in TBS 89-1 and in claiming on
his 1991 return that he had a loss attributable to that
participation.
Before joining TBS 89-1, petitioner had limited education
and practical experience with regard to cattle ranching, and he
had no experience with cattle valuation. Nonetheless, before
joining TBS 89-1, petitioner sought no independent professional
advice on the legitimacy of TBS 89-1, opting instead to join that
venture on the basis of his conversations with his colleagues at
work. Generally, a taxpayer is required to have made a
reasonable inquiry into the validity of a questionable tax
shelter benefit in order not to be liable for an accuracy-related
penalty for negligence. See Collins v. Commissioner, 857 F.2d
1383, 1386 (9th Cir. 1988), affg. Dister v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 1987-217; Zmuda v. Commissioner, 731 F.2d at 1422; cf.
Freytag v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 849, 888 (1987), affd. 904 F.2d
1011 (5th Cir. 1990), affd. 501 U.S. 868 (1991). Petitioner has
failed that requirement. Accord Hansen v. Commissioner, 471 F.3d
at 1029-1030 (in the setting of a “highly suspicious” investment
in a Hoyt venture, the taxpayers were negligent in that they did
not seek to verify the legitimacy of the tax benefits with a
source independent of Hoyt); Van Scoten v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2004-275 (participants in Hoyt ventures were negligent in
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