- 82 -
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. Specifically, Miller foreclosed any
potential liability for increased interest in his cases by making
payment of the tax 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 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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