- 7 - Because petitioner has failed to file a brief, the nature of his arguments is not entirely clear. In any event, no evidence has been admitted that would tend to support any of the claimed business expense deductions that were not conceded by respondent. To make matters worse, petitioner’s testimony was plagued by memory lapses and confessions of error with respect to some of his claimed deductions. The Court therefore concludes that petitioner has failed to demonstrate entitlement to deductions for any business expenses in excess of those conceded by respondent. III. Deduction for State Tax Payments State income taxes paid or accrued during the taxable year are generally deductible. See sec. 164(a)(3). At trial, petitioner asserted tersely that he made five payments of $310 to the California Franchise Tax Board in 2000. Aside from that assertion, there is no evidence of record to demonstrate that petitioner actually made those payments on behalf of his business. Because petitioner has failed to properly substantiate the claimed State tax payments, he has not demonstrated entitlement to a deduction for State tax payments with respect to his 2000 taxable year. IV. Deduction for Alimony or Separate Maintenance Payments Payments incident to a divorce that are characterized as alimony or separate maintenance are deductible by the payor.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NextLast modified: March 27, 2008