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of limitations for assessments attributable to partnership or
affected items.
g. Nonfilers
In response to petitioner’s policy arguments, respondent
notes that petitioner’s position leaves a gap with respect to
nonfilers; i.e., partners who fail to file their own returns.
Respondent states:
under petitioner’s proposed interpretation of section
6229, if a timely filed partnership return reports
income, the Commissioner would be unable to assess tax
attributable to such income more than three years after
the partnership return is filed despite the fact that a
partner, the only party against whom tax may be
assessed, has filed no return.
Respondent’s point is well taken. Congress has determined that
the period for assessment does not run with respect to nonfilers.
See sec. 6501(c)(3). Section 6229(c)(3) provides that where no
partnership return is filed, tax attributable to partnership
items (or affected items) may be assessed at any time. Section
6229 contains no parallel provision for partners who fail to file
their own returns. This is undoubtedly because the applicable
section 6501 period never begins to run for a nonfiling partner.
h. Conclusion
Respondent carried out the unified examination of the
partnership that Congress had in mind when it enacted the TEFRA
partnership provisions. As a result of that examination,
respondent determined that an adjustment was necessary and issued
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