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interest.4 Petitioners' argument has a certain appeal,
guaranteeing a taxpayer the right of judicial review under
section 6404(g). However, in contrast to section 6532(a),
Congress did not provide a remedy within section 6404(g) where
the Secretary fails to act on a request for abatement of interest
within a reasonable time. Neither the plain language of section
6404(g) nor the legislative history suggests a basis for imposing
a time limit within which the Secretary is obliged to act with
respect to a request for abatement of interest. Because the
Court clearly lacks the authority to graft such a time limit onto
section 6404(g), petitioners' remedy lies with Congress, not with
this Court.
Consistent with Bourekis v. Commissioner, supra, we will
grant respondent's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
In short, in the absence of a final determination denying
petitioners' request for abatement of interest, the Court lacks
jurisdiction to proceed under section 6404(g).
To reflect the foregoing,
An order will be entered
granting respondent's Motion
to Dismiss for Lack of
Jurisdiction.
4 Sec. 6532(a)(1) provides that no suit or proceeding under
sec. 7422(a) shall be begun before the expiration of 6 months
from the date of filing a claim unless the Secretary renders a
decision within that time, nor after the expiration of 2 years
from the mailing of the notice of disallowance.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011