- 19 - States v. Halper, 490 U.S. 435 (1989). A civil sanction is punishment for double jeopardy purposes if it is not solely remedial but also serves punitive goals of deterrence or retribution. Department of Revenue v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. at __, 114 S. Ct. at 1944; United States v. Halper, supra at 448- 449; see Barnette v. Commissioner, 95 T.C. 341, 346-347 (1990) (discussing Halper). Additions to tax such as section 6651(a) are not punishment for purposes of the Double Jeopardy Clause. The U.S. Supreme Court has said: The remedial character of sanctions imposing additions to a tax has been made clear by this Court in passing upon similar legislation. They are provided primarily as a safeguard for the protection of the revenue and to reimburse the Government for the heavy expense of investigation and the loss resulting from the taxpayer’s fraud. [Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391, 401 (1938).] See Miller v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1994-249 (increased interest under section 6621(c) not punishment); Dillon v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1981-583. The accuracy-related penalty under section 6662(a) and (c) for negligence is also remedial. See Helvering v. Mitchell, supra at 399-406 (the 50-percent addition to tax for civil fraud is remedial and not punitive for double jeopardy purposes); United States v. Alt, ___ F.3d ___ (6th Cir., May 15, 1996); Ianniello v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. 165, 176-177 (1992). The accuracy-related penalty under section 6662(a) is 20 percent. It is less severe than the addition toPage: Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011