Union Texas International Corporation, f.k.a. Union Texas Petroleum Corporation - Page 21

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          was not reflected in the computer transcripts generated using New            
          Petroleum's EIN, which were used to confirm that the information             
          on the last three Forms 872 was correct.                                     
               Respondent's argument rests on the premise that any                     
          knowledge of New Petroleum's merger obtained by personnel at the             
          Austin Service Center should not be attributed to the WPT agents,            
          because respondent did not have a computer system in place at the            
          time the last three Forms 872 were drafted, which would have                 
          enabled the agents to access this information easily.  We agree              
          with respondent.  See also Southwestern Inv. Co. v. Commissioner,            
          19 B.T.A. 30 (1930) (citing Brant v. Virginia Coal & Iron Co., 93            
          U.S. 326, 337 (1876); cf. Abeles v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. 1019               
          (1988).                                                                      
               In Abeles v. Commissioner, supra at 1035, our decision                  
          turned on the then-existing availability of computer-generated               
          information using the taxpayer's Social Security number.  There,             
          we held that for purposes of determining whether a notice of                 
          deficiency has been properly mailed to the taxpayer's last known             
          address, an agent issuing a deficiency notice generally is                   
          charged with knowledge of a taxpayer's last known address which              
          appears on the taxpayer's most recently filed tax return.  In                
          Abeles, we found as a fact that the then-existing computer                   
          capabilities of the IRS were such that an agent responsible for              
          issuing a notice of deficiency had the ability to conduct, within            
          a few moments, a search of the IRS computer files for a more                 
          recent address for the taxpayer. Id. at 1033-1035.  In so                    



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