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Merchants' Bank v. United States, 476 F.2d 406 (4th Cir. 1973).
According to petitioners, the principle of equality precludes the
Commissioner from making arbitrary distinctions between like
cases. See Baker v. Commissioner, 787 F.2d 637, 643 (D.C. Cir.
1986), vacating 83 T.C. 822 (1984).
The different tax treatment accorded petitioners and Miller
was not arbitrary or irrational. While petitioners and Miller
both invested in the Plastics Recycling project, their actions
with respect to such investments provide a rational basis for
treating them differently. Miller foreclosed any potential
liability for increased interest in his cases by making payments
prior to December 31, 1984; no interest accrued after that date.
In contrast, petitioners made no such payment, and they conceded
that the increased rate of interest under section 6621(c) applies
in their consolidated cases. Liability for the increased rate of
interest is the principal difference between the settlement in
the Miller cases, which petitioners declined when they failed to
accept the piggyback agreement offer, and the settlement offer
that petitioners also failed to accept.
Petitioners argue that section 6621(c) must have been an
issue in the Miller cases since each of the decisions in Miller
recites "That there is no increased interest due from the
petitioner[s] for the taxable years [at issue] under the
provisions of IRC section 6621(c)." According to petitioners,
"Surely, if the Millers were not otherwise subject to the penalty
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