Opinion ID: 489555
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Civil Revenue Ruling

Text: 18 Over defendant's objection an IRS witness testified about a 1981 tax court case, McGahen v. Commissioner, 76 T.C. 468 (1981), which was admitted into evidence. McGahen disposed of the same Basic Bible Church contentions here raised by the defendant. There was, however, no showing that the defendant was actually aware of the holding in the case. The case was admitted for the limited purpose of showing that specific, reliable tax information was available to the defendant, in order to rebut the defendant's claim that the tax questions he raised with ministers, congressmen, and others had no definitive answers. The defendant was relying on a defense of good faith misunderstanding of the law, but the jury was instructed that it could consider whether the defendant intentionally avoided discovering what he did not want to learn about being required to pay his taxes. The information the defendant did not want to have about his tax liabilities was easily available to him whether he chose to acknowledge it or not. 19 McGahen was a civil case. It contained no finding of guilt in like circumstances, but it revealed what should have been abundantly clear even without the decision. The Basic Bible Church was nothing more than a tax protest church. Some members of the Basic Bible Church were indicted in 1981. The defendant knew about that and moved to another church, but he showed his willfulness by continuing to violate the tax laws even though he could have, and should have, known better. 20 We do not see the McGahen decision as making much difference one way or the other in view of all the other evidence. Although the decision had been admitted for a limited purpose over the defendant's objection, the defendant sought no limiting instruction. We find no prejudice and no error in its admission in these particular circumstances.