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The bill retains the general rule of present law
that interest on these penalties commences with the
date the return was required to be filed. The
committee believes this rule is appropriate because the
behavior being penalized is reflected on the tax
return, so that imposition of interest from this date
will reduce the incentives of taxpayers and their
advisors to 'play the audit lottery.' [H. Rept. 101-
247, at 2234 (1989).]
The majority states that Congress used the phrase "tax
required to be shown on a return" as a classification and did not
intend that the penalty be based on the specific tax required to
be shown on the fraudulent return on the filing date. See
majority op. p. 9. I disagree. The statutory classification of
situations covered by the section 6663(a) penalty is contained in
section 6664. Section 6664(b) provides that the accuracy-related
and the fraud penalties of sections 6662 and 6663, "shall apply
only in cases where a return of tax is filed". Section 6664(b)
specifically classifies the situations to which section 6663(a)
applies. If the phrase "tax required to be shown on a return" in
section 6663 only refers to the type of tax, as the majority
suggests, the phrase would be surplusage. In construing the tax
Code, words used should not be considered surplusage. D.
Ginsberg & Sons v. Popkin, 285 U.S. 204, 208 (1932) (It is a
cardinal rule of statutory construction that "effect shall be
given to every clause and part of a statute."); Arc Elec. Constr.
Co. v. Commissioner, supra at 1008.
The majority's interpretation will also produce an
unintended inconsistency between the way in which the fraud
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