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the Court entered a decision that petitioner owed a deficiency in
income tax for 1980. Sometime before November 1996, the interest
liability was assessed. In 1995, respondent granted Vida Lee
innocent spouse relief pursuant to section 6013(e).
OPINION
Section 6404(e)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that the
Secretary may abate the assessment of interest on any payment of
tax to the extent that any error or delay in payment is
attributable to an officer or employee of the IRS being erroneous
or dilatory in performing a ministerial act.3 For purposes of
section 6404(e)(1), an error or delay is taken into account only
(1) if no significant aspect of such error or delay can be
attributed to the taxpayer and (2) after the IRS has contacted
the taxpayer in writing with respect to such deficiency or
payment. See sec. 6404(e)(1).
This Court may order abatement where the Secretary abuses
his discretion by failing to abate interest. See sec. 6404(i).
In order to prevail, the taxpayer must demonstrate that in not
abating interest the Secretary exercised his discretion
3 In 1996, sec. 6404(e) was amended under sec. 301 of the
Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, Pub. L. 104-168, 110 Stat. 1452, 1457
(1996), to permit the Secretary to abate interest with respect to
an "unreasonable" error or delay resulting from "managerial" and
ministerial acts. This amendment, however, applies to interest
accruing with respect to deficiencies or payments for tax years
beginning after July 30, 1996; therefore, the amendment is
inapplicable to the case at bar. See Woodral v. Commissioner,
112 T.C. 19, 25 n.8 (1999).
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