Jerry and Patricia A. Dixon, et al - Page 78




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          Appeals Office requesting that the Cravens cases be closed in               
          accordance with special closing instructions.  The intent of                
          these instructions as stated in the memorandum was "to cause the            
          taxpayers' 1979 and 1980 accounts to zero out with no further               
          amounts due."  This was to be accomplished by adjusting the                 
          interest that would otherwise have become due on the assessments            
          made in accordance with the stipulated decision previously                  
          entered by the Tax Court on August 25, 1992.  The memorandum                
          explained the proposed interest adjustment as follows:                      
                    The amount of interest being assessed has been                    
               adjusted because the decision document tendered to                     
               petitioners and subsequently filed with the Court in                   
               settlement of this case did not comport with District                  
               Counsel's 1986 settlement offer.  The settlement offer                 
               provided that the first year deficiency would be                       
               shifted to the second year.  Accordingly, there would                  
               have been no deficiency for 1979 and the deficiency for                
               1980 would have been increased to $9,782 ($3,606 +                     
               $6,176).  The amount of interest being assessed has                    
               been adjusted because this provision was not included                  
               in the decision documents and because the decision                     
               documents in this case were not promptly prepared and                  
               filed with the Tax Court in December 1986 when the case                
               was settled.  The balance of the adjustment relates to                 
               computational errors in District Counsel's original                    
               computation of the amounts due.                                        
          The authority stated in the memorandum for reducing the amounts             
          due from the Cravenses was section 6404(a)(1), relating to                  
          excessive assessments, and section 6404(e)(1), relating to                  
          abatement of interest.                                                      
               As mentioned supra note 2, the Court of Appeals for the                
          Ninth Circuit held that the Cravens decisions became final                  
          pursuant to section 7481(a)(1), despite the attempts by Messrs.             



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