- 8 -
120 T.C. 163, 169 (2003) (“The majority of courts, including this
Court, have held that, generally, a return that contains only
zeros is not a valid return.”);7 see also Rev. Rul. 2004-34,
2004-1 C.B. 619.
Petitioner has not presented any evidence to suggest that
her filing of a “zero return” was due to reasonable cause. In
that regard, we note that petitioner filed her “zero return”
after purchasing and reading the works of Irwin Schiff, a known
tax protester. Petitioner’s reliance on the frivolous arguments
of a known tax protester, which have been rejected repeatedly by
this Court and others, was not reasonable and will not shield her
from the imposition of an addition to tax under section
6651(a)(1). See Lopez v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-211
(rejecting an argument in reliance on Irwin Schiff’s works in an
attempt to avoid the imposition of additions to tax and
7 An appeal in this case would normally lie in the Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, absent a stipulation to the
contrary. Although we are not aware of any ruling by the Court
of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on this issue, a majority of
Courts of Appeals have held that a return devoid of financial
information is not a valid return. See United States v. Mosel,
738 F.2d 157, 158 (6th Cir. 1984); United States v. Grabinski,
727 F.2d 681, 687 (8th Cir. 1984); United States v. Rickman, 638
F.2d 182, 184 (10th Cir. 1980); United States v. Moore, 627 F.2d
830, 834 (7th Cir. 1980); United States v. Smith, 618 F.2d 280,
281 (5th Cir. 1980). The decision of the Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Long, 618 F.2d 74, 75-76
(9th Cir. 1980), insofar as it is to the contrary, represents a
minority view that we need not follow in this case.
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