Bernard Boozer - Page 5

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          dischargeability of the tax deficiency in the bankruptcy                    
          proceeding.                                                                 
               On December 19, 1996, respondent mailed a statutory notice             
          of deficiency to petitioner for his 1991 taxable year.  The                 
          deficiency apparently resulted from disallowances of certain                
          claimed deductions related to petitioner's businesses.  On March            
          11, 1997, petitioner timely filed a petition to this Court.                 
               The Tax Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, and its              
          powers may not exceed those conferred by statute.  Sec. 7442;               
          Magazine v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 321, 326 (1987); Burns, Stix              
          Friedman & Co. v. Commissioner, 57 T.C. 392, 396 (1971).  This              
          Court lacks the requisite subject matter jurisdiction to decide             
          whether a taxpayer's deficiency was discharged in a bankruptcy              
          proceeding.  Neilson v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. 1, 9 (1990).                  
               As a general rule, this Court's jurisdiction to consider tax           
          matters depends on a notice of deficiency and a timely filed                
          petition.  Secs. 6212 and 6213; Rule 13; Neilson v. Commissioner,           
          supra.  The redetermination of an income tax deficiency has                 
          "nothing to do with collection of the tax nor any similarity to             
          an action for collection of a debt, nor does it involve any other           
          rights and remedies of the sort traditionally enforced in an                
          action at law."  Swanson v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 1180, 1184                
          (1976).  Accordingly, although we lack jurisdiction to determine            
          whether petitioner's deficiency had been discharged in                      





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