Patrick W. Healey and Nancy L. Marshall - Page 19

                                       - 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 to              




Page:  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