-9-
As to the Schedule A deductions in issue, petitioners assert
that they had the requisite substantiation to support their claim
to those deductions, but their tax records were stolen from their
storage facility. Petitioners have failed to submit credible
evidence to establish either part of that assertion. In fact,
the report of the law enforcement agency investigating the
burglary of the location of their storage unit indicates that
petitioners’ storage unit was not among those burglarized.
Petitioner’s handwritten breakdown of estimated mileage
driven in connection with his part-time jobs and his job
searching is inadequate to substantiate his mileage deduction.
The documents petitioners submitted to substantiate their claim
to the personal property taxes deduction are also insufficient in
that not one of the documents lists 2000 or 2001 as the years in
which personal property tax was paid. Nor does the student loan
payment statement substantiate any claim for a student loan
interest deduction for 2000 or 2001 as it provides a payment
history only for 2002 to 2005. Petitioners presented no evidence
at trial, documentary or otherwise, to substantiate expenses
related to tuition or books or noncash charitable contributions.
We sustain respondent’s determination that petitioners are not
entitled to deduct any of the disallowed Schedule A deductions.5
5 While petitioners do not argue application of the rule
articulated in Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540 (2d Cir. 1930),
(continued...)
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007