Trohimovich v. Commissioner

1989 T.C. Memo. 384, 57 T.C.M. 1109, 1989 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 383
United States Tax Court·Decided July 31, 1989·No. Docket No. 31853-88·Unpublished·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

STANLEY J. TROHIMOVICH AND ANNA MAE TROHIMOVICH, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Trohimovich v. Commissioner
Docket No. 31853-88
United States Tax Court
T.C. Memo 1989-384; 1989 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 383; 57 T.C.M. (CCH) 1109; T.C.M. (RIA) 89384;
July 31, 1989
Stanley J. Trohimovich and Anna Mae Trohimovich, pro sese.
Michael R. McMahon, for the respondent.

GOFFE

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GOFFE, Judge: This case was assigned to Special Trial Judge Norman H. Wolfe pursuant*384 to the provisions of section 7443A(b) and Rule 180 et seq. 1 The Court agrees with and adopts the opinion of the Special Trial Judge, which is set forth below.

OPINION OF THE SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE

WOLFE, Special Trial Judge: This case is before the Court on respondent's Motion To Dismiss For Failure To State A Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted, filed January 23, 1989, and petitioners' Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Jurisdiction, which was filed on February 21, 1989, as part of petitioners' Notice of Objection to respondent's motion.

On September 9, 1988, respondent issued two notices of deficiency, one to each petitioner. In these notices he determined deficiencies in and additions to petitioners' Federal income taxes for 1984 and 1985 as follows:

Stanley J. Trohimovich
19841985
Deficiency$ 31,449.00$ 16,305.00
Additions to Tax:
Section 6651(a)7,862.004,076.00
Section 6653(a)(1)1,572.00815.00
Section 6653(a)(2)50% of the50% of the
interest dueinterest due
on $ 31,449.00on $ 16,305.00
Section 66541,975.00941.00
*385
Anna Mae Trohimovich
19841985
Deficiency$ 27,178.00$ 11,632.00
Additions to Tax:
Section 6651(a)6,795.002,908.00
Section 6653(a)(1)1,359.00582.00
Section 6653(a)(2)50% of the50% of the
interest dueinterest due
on $ 27,178.00on $ 11,632.00
Section 66541,708.00666.00

These deficiencies were based on petitioners' unreported income. For each year, respondent allocated the community income, allowed each petitioner a personal exemption and computed the tax by using the table applicable to married persons filing separately. Respondent determined that petitioners failed to file their respective income tax returns for 1984 and 1985 within the time prescribed by law and did not show that the failure to file on time was due to reasonable cause. Respondent also determined that petitioners underpaid their estimated tax for 1984 and 1985 and that part or all of the underpayment of tax for the same period was due to negligence or intentional disregard of rules or regulations.

On December 12, 1988, petitioners, residents of Aberdeen, Washington, filed a joint petition with*386 this Court. On February 21, 1989, petitioners filed a Notice of Objection to Motion To Dismiss For Failure To State A Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted. In their petition and their objection to respondent's motion, petitioners alleged that there was no deficiency in their taxes for 1984 and 1985. They failed to plead any facts in support of their general denial of respondent's determinations. Petitioners plainly have failed to satisfy the provision of Rule 34(b)(5) requiring "Clear and concise lettered statements of the facts on which petitioner bases the assignments of error." Petitioners assert that, though representing themselves, they are experienced in the filing of petitions with this Court. Under analogous circumstances the general denial of respondent's determinations has been held insufficient to comply with this Court's rules. See, e.g., Carter v. Commissioner,

Trohimovich v. Commissioner, 1989 T.C. Memo. 384, 57 T.C.M. 1109, 1989 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 383 (tax 1989).

1989 T.C. Memo. 384 (Trohimovich v. Commissioner) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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