Phillip A. O'Bryon and Cyndie W. O'Bryon - Page 20




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          In support of her claim, Cyndie alleged that, at the time of                
          signing the joint income tax returns for the years in issue, she            
          did not know and had no reason to know of Phillip's                         
          understatement of tax and that it would be inequitable to hold              
          her liable for deficiencies attributable to such understatements.           
          In the answer, respondent denied or denied for lack of sufficient           
          information Cyndie's factual allegations with respect to her                
          claim for relief under section 6015.                                        
               On March 15, 2000, respondent's counsel, the Associate                 
          District Counsel, and the Appeals officer interviewed Cyndie for            
          the first time and evaluated her credibility concerning her                 
          claim.  Prior to this meeting, the parties had devoted most of              
          their discussions to the issue of the embezzlement income offset.           
          Cyndie did not supply any evidence to establish her qualification           
          for section 6015 relief until the meeting on March 15, 2000.                
          After the 2-hour interview, respondent concluded that Cyndie                
          qualified for section 6015 relief on all issues (not merely on              
          that of the embezzlement income) for all years in issue.  The               
          parties' settlement, signed 5 days later, reflects respondent's             
          concession on the issue of section 6015 relief.  Petitioners                
          assert that respondent belatedly conceded the merits of Cyndie's            
          position.                                                                   
               Section 6015(a) permits an individual who has filed a joint            
          return to elect to seek relief from joint and several liability             






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