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inconsistent positions. As the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit has stated in an analogous context where the same
taxpayer receives conflicting notices of deficiency concerning
the same items of income:
If the Commissioner * * * had chosen incorrectly to
make only one tax deficiency determination * * * under
a theory of tax liability reasonably grounded on the
data procured, conceivably the bar of the statute of
limitations on assessment would preclude other
assessments on other determinations predicated on other
theories of tax liability reasonably grounded on the
data in * * * [her] possession. We find no legal or
logical reason which compels the Commissioner to run
such risk in the proper performance of * * * [her] duty
to protect the revenue. [Revell, Inc. v. Riddell, 273
F.2d 649, 660 (9th Cir. 1959)].
Petitioner nonetheless asserts that such inconsistent
positions need not have been taken by respondent, and therefore
much litigation expense could have been avoided. Petitioner
avers that it told respondent that, rather than moving to
consolidate petitioner's case with that of the Ohanesians,
respondent should have urged the Court to wait to decide
petitioner's case until after the Ohanesians' case was decided.
However, petitioner ignores that much of the litigation cost was
run up by its own intransigence. The IRS had asked petitioner to
sign a Form 872, Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax, as
early as December 9, 1993, but was rebuffed, and so it was forced
to prepare the notice of deficiency to defend against
inconsistent results. Petitioner also disregards the unnecessary
expenditure of judicial time and resources that two separate
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