- 5 - addition to tax for fraud3 is Helvering v. Mitchell, supra at 399-401, in which the Supreme Court stated: Congress may impose both a criminal and a civil sanction in respect to the same act or omission; for the double jeopardy clause prohibits merely punishing twice, or attempting a second time to punish criminally, for the same offense. The question for decision is thus whether section 293(b) [the predecessor of section 6653(b)] imposes a criminal sanction. That question is one of statutory construction. * * * * * * * 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. * * * [Citation and fn. ref. omitted.] See also Ianniello v. Commissioner, 98 T.C. at 176-185. Thus, unless the doctrine of Mitchell has been modified or diluted, petitioner's contention should be rejected out of hand. Petitioner points to three Supreme Court cases: Department of Revenue of Montana v. Kurth Ranch, 511 U.S. 767 (1994); Austin v. United States, 509 U.S. 602 (1993); and United States v. Halper, supra, as supporting his position that Mitchell no longer applies in situations such as are involved herein. 3 Liability for the fraud addition under sec. 6651(f) involves the same elements as under former sec. 6653(b)(1) and current sec. 6663(a). Clayton v. Commissioner, 102 T.C. 632, 652-653 (1994).Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
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