Jeffrey R. Taylor - Page 7




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                    the Internal Revenue Service (acting in his official              
                    capacity) in performing a ministerial act, * * *                  
               *    *         *         *         *         *         *               
               the Secretary may abate the assessment of all or any part of           
               such interest for any period.  For purposes of the                     
               proceeding sentence, an error or delay shall be taken into             
               account only if no significant aspect of such error or delay           
               can be attributed to the taxpayer involved, and after the              
               Internal Revenue Service has contacted the taxpayer in                 
               writing with respect to such deficiency * * *.[2]                      
          Section 6404(i)(1) provides further that "The Tax Court shall               
          have jurisdiction over any action brought by a taxpayer * * * to            
          determine whether the Secretary's failure to abate interest * * *           
          was an abuse of discretion, and may order an abatement".3                   
               While petitioner's application for abatement and petition              
          for review of respondent's denial encompass all the interest due            
          on the deficiencies for the 1986 and 1987 tax years, at the                 
          hearing, and, on brief, petitioner has narrowed the scope of his            
          request for abatement to the period between when the criminal               
          investigation began (October 13, 1988, the date of the referral             
          to CID) to when the civil aspects resumed (April 15, 1994, the              

               2                                                                      
                    Congress amended sec. 6404(e) in 1996 to permit                   
          abatement of interest for "unreasonable" error and delay in                 
          performing a "ministerial or managerial" act.  Taxpayer Bill of             
          Rights 2 (TBOR 2), Pub. L. 104-168, sec. 301(a)(1) and (2), 110             
          Stat. 1452, 1457 (1996).  That standard, however, applies to tax            
          years beginning after July 30, 1996.  TBOR 2, sec. 301(c), 110              
          Stat. 1457.                                                                 
               3                                                                      
                    Sec. 6404(i) also contains jurisdictional requirements            
          to bring such an action.  Respondent has not raised any                     
          jurisdictional bar, and the Court is satisfied that these                   
          prerequisites have been satisfied.                                          





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