FAY,
Additions under | Additions under | ||
Year | Deficiency | Sec. 6651(a) 1 | Sec. 6653(a) |
1969 | $1,025.00 | $115.00 | $51.00 |
1970 | 1,050.00 | 114.00 | 53.00 |
1971 | 971.00 | 114.00 | 49.00 |
1972 | 962.00 | 203.00 | 48.00 |
We are to decide whether petitioner is entitled to certain "war crimes deductions" for the years in issue and whether the additions to tax determined by respondent under section 6651(a) and section 6653(a) are proper.
Respondent has moved for partial Summary Judgment under1976 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 99">*100
Petitioner, Robert L. Anthony, resided in Moylan, Pennsylvania, at the time of filing the petition herein. He filed Federal income tax returns for each of the years in issue with the District Director of Internal Revenue in Chester, Pennsylvania, on March 26, 1974.
Briefly stated, petitioner maintains that payment of the amount in issue abridges his religious freedom under the
While we do not question petitioner's sincerity, we have previously considered and rejected his
Next, we must decide whether to sustain the additions to tax determined by respondent under section 6651(a) and section 6653(a) and contested by petitioner at a trial conducted on June 23, 1976.
Petitioner, through his oral testimony at trial and presentation on brief, represents that both additions to tax were erroneously determined by respondent for the following reasons: (1) 1976 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 99">*102 his religious tenets and international law constitute reasonable cause under section 6651(a) for his failure to timely file returns for the years in issue; (2) neither petitioner's untimely filing of his returns nor the deductions contained therein justify imposition of the negligence penalty under section 6653(a); (3) in any event, it is improper to impose both penalties upon petitioner for the untimely filing of his returns.
Section 6651(a) imposes an addition to tax for failure to timely file a return unless such failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. Section 6653(a) imposes an addition to tax, "if any part of any underpayment * * * is due to negligence or intentional disregard of rules and regulations * * *."
We believe that petitioner has failed to carry his burden of proof on both counts. Petitioner's uninformed but good faith belief that his religious convictions or international law relieved him of his duty to timely file returns for the years in issue is insufficient to constitute reasonable cause.
As such belief constitutes petitioner's only justification for untimely filing his returns, we conclude that such failure was due to willful neglect and that petitioner is liable for the addition to tax under section 6651(a).
With respect to respondent's determination under section 6653(a), petitioner's good faith
Finally, we consider petitioner's argument against the concurrent imposition of both penalties. 4 This Court has previously held1976 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 99">*104 that in appropriate cases, imposition of the addition to tax under section 6651(a) does not preclude the concurrent imposition of the negligence penalty under section 6653(a).
Due to concessions by respondent,
1. Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.↩
2. In
3. See also
4. Since respondent cites more than one reason for his assertion of the negligence penalty, we are not herein confronted with the question raised by petitioner of whether both penalties may be based