Hale Exemption Trust - Page 6




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          independent of any deficiency proceeding.  Fernandez v.                     
          Commissioner, supra at 329.                                                 
               Here, Sylvia’s claim for relief from joint liability was               
          raised as an amendment to the petition for deficiency                       
          redetermination.  No subsequent filing was made to substitute a             
          claim for relief under section 6015 for the section 6013(e)                 
          claim; the parties apparently assumed that the issue was still              
          properly before the Court.  In such circumstances, we will treat            
          Sylvia’s request for relief under 6013(e) as a request for relief           
          under section 6015(c) and treat the petition as so amended.  See            
          Rule 41(b); Corson v. Commissioner, supra at 363-364; Charlton v.           
          Commissioner, supra at 338-339.  We consider Sylvia’s claim                 
          within the framework of our traditional deficiency jurisdiction.            
               As a threshold matter, we note that “All concessions,                  
          including stipulated settlement agreements, are subject to the              
          Court’s discretionary review” and may be rejected in the                    
          interests of justice.  McGowan v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 599, 607            
          (1976).  In the interests of justice, it is highly desirable that           
          identical issues that are before a single tribunal receive                  
          identical treatment.  We believe that the interests of justice              
          would be ill served if the rights of the nonelecting spouse were            
          to differ according to the jurisdictional predicate for the claim           
          for section 6015 relief.                                                    
               In a stand-alone proceeding brought under section 6015(e)              






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