TAX COURT OPINION

Case: James Kiser Hazel, Jr.
Docket Number: 3962-07
Judge: Colvin
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 05/07/2008
Pages: 3

UNITED STATES TAX~ COURT Washington , D. C. 2 21 7 JAMES KISER HAZEL, JR ., Petitione r v . ) Pocket No . 3962-0 7 COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent . ADM . RECORDED SERV IC E CAL . STAT . -8-'T- JUDGE FILE S O R D E R Pursuant to Rule 152(b), Tax Couri Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall transmit herewith to petitioner and to respondent a copy of the pages of the transcript of the trial of the above case before Judge Thomas B . Wells at Columbia, South Carolina, on March 21, 2008, containing his oral findings of fact and opinion rendered at the conclusion of trial . In accordance with the oral findings of fact and opinion, decision will be entered for responder . (Signed ) Thomas B. Wells Judge Dated : Washington, D . C . May 7, 2008 SERVED MAY - 7 2008 2 1 Bench Opinion by Judge Thomas 4 . Well s 2 March 21, 200 8 3 Hazel v . Commissioner Docket No . 3962-07 4 THE COURT : The Cour has decided to render 5 oral findings of fact and opinion in this case and the 6 following represents the Court's oral findings of fact 7 and opinion . The oral findin s of fact and opinion 8 shall not be relied upon as p ecedent in any othe r 9 case . 10 This is the case of James Kiser Hazel, Jr ., 11 Petitioner, versus Commission r of Internal Revenue, 12 Respondent, docket number 396 -07 . This bench opinion 13 is made pursuant to the autho ity granted by Sectio n 14 7459(d) and Rule 152 . 15 All section refere ces are to the Internal 16 Revenue Code as in effect fo the year in issue, and 17 all rule references are to t e Tax Court Rules o f 18 Practice and Procedure . 19 Respondent determin ed a deficiency against 20 Petitioner for his 2003 taxa le year in the amount of 21 $2,351 . At the time the petition was filed , 22 Petitioner was a resident of Spartanburg, Sout h 23 Carolina . 24 In general, Respop dent's determinations i n 25 the notice of deficiency are entitled to a presumptio n Heritage Reporting Corporation i (202) 6 8-4888 3 1 of correctness, and Petitioner bears the burden o f 2 rebutting that presumption b a preponderance of the 3 evidence -- Welch v . Helveri g, 290 U .S . 111 (1933) ; 4 Rule 142(a) -- unless Petitioner meets th e 5 requirements of Section 7491 a) . Petitioner ha s 6 neither claimed the benefits nor met the requirements 7 of Section 7491(a), and therefore, the burden of proof 8 remains on Petitioner . 9 In the instant case, Petitioner has offered 10 no credible substantiation o his employee business 11 expenses to which he claims entitlement . See Section 12 274(d) . Moreover, Petitioner failed to offer any 13 credible evidence that shows that Respondent's 14 determinations are incorrect . 15 Accordingly, we find that Petitioner' s 16 arguments are without merit and that he has failed to 17 carry his burden of proof . Consequently, we sustain 18 Respondent's deficiency determinations in full . 19 To reflect the foregoing, decision will be 20 entered for Respondent . The foregoing represents the 21 Court's oral findings of fact and opinion in thi s 22 case . This concludes this case . Thank you . 23 (Whereupon, at 10 : 42 a .m ., the bench opinio n 24 in the above-entitled matter was concluded . ) 25 Heritage Reportin Corporation (202) 628 4888