- 10 -
Meaningful Hearing Argument
Hearings at the Appeals level have historically been
conducted in an informal setting. Section 601.106(c), Statement
of Procedural Rules, provides:
(c) Nature of proceedings before Appeals. Proceedings
before the Appeals are informal. Testimony under oath
is not taken, although matters alleged as facts may be
required to be submitted in the form of affidavits, or
declared to be true under the penalties of perjury.
* * *
Saltzman, IRS Practice and Procedure, par. 9.05[3], at 9-37 (2d
ed. 1991), explains:
Appeals Office conferences are informal. No
stenographer is present to record the discussions of
the facts and the law relating to the issue involved.
Testimony under oath is not taken. Matters alleged as
fact must be submitted in the form of an affidavit or
declared to be true under penalties of perjury. * * *
When Congress enacted section 6330 and required that
taxpayers be given an opportunity to seek a pre-levy hearing with
Appeals, Congress was fully aware of the existing nature and
function of Appeals. Nothing in section 6330 or the legislative
history suggests that Congress intended to alter the nature of an
Appeals hearing so as to compel the attendance or examination of
witnesses. When it enacted section 6330, Congress did not
provide either Appeals or taxpayers with statutory authority to
subpoena witnesses.4 The references in section 6330 to a hearing
4Compare sec. 7456, giving this Court the specific authority
to require the attendance and testimony of witnesses by subpoena.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011