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Section 6201(a) gives the Commissioner broad authority to
assess and collect taxes. That authority is restricted, however,
by the general requirement that, with respect to certain types of
tax, a notice of deficiency must first be sent to the taxpayer
before assessment and/or collection of the tax. Sec. 6213(a).
Upon issuance of a notice of deficiency, a taxpayer may challenge
the correctness of the deficiency determination in this Court by
filing a petition within a specified period of time. Id. If a
petition is timely filed, the Commissioner is precluded from
assessing or collecting the tax deficiency until the Tax Court’s
decision is final. Id.
These procedures ensure that a deficiency cannot be assessed
and/or collected without petitioners' being provided an
opportunity to show respondent to be in error. Because
petitioners filed a petition in this case, the deficiency amount
cannot be assessed or collected until our decision is final.
Though petitioners contend that respondent improperly
assessed their tax, there is no evidence that respondent failed
to comply with the deficiency procedure or improperly assessed
any tax. No assessment has been made concerning respondent’s
determination for the 1993 tax year. Petitioners, although given
the opportunity to dispute the correctness of the deficiency and
penalty, have chosen to present no substantive evidence regarding
respondent's determination for the 1993 tax year. We accordingly
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Last modified: May 25, 2011