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regarding all of the requirements, and he was responsible to
properly report the contributions on their returns.
Mr. Kramer also made the appraisal for the early years at
issue by appraising the Beneco stock. Petitioners relied on Mr.
Kramer as their C.P.A. and for the necessary appraisals with
respect to the partnership interests contributed for their 1998
through 2001 tax years. Mr. Kramer testified that he believed
he was familiar with section 170 reporting requirements for
noncash charitable contributions and with the Form 8283 used to
report noncash charitable contributions. Mr. Kramer recognized
that it was his responsibility to make sure that the section 170
reporting requirements for the noncash charitable contributions
were met when he completed the tax returns for the years at
issue. Mr. Kramer stated that he made a good-faith effort to
comply with the section 170 reporting requirements. The record
reflects that his efforts fell far short of the requirements.
Around 1999 or 2000, Mr. Kramer advised petitioners to
obtain a certified appraisal, and he recommended that they hire
Mr. Koehl, a certified appraiser. Mr. Kramer hired Mr. Koehl, on
petitioners’ behalf, to appraise the partnership interests. Mr.
Koehl made the independent decision to value only the Beneco
stock.
Accordingly, petitioners have shown that they had every
reason to believe that their adviser was a competent professional
with sufficient expertise to justify their reliance on him.
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Last modified: March 27, 2008