- 12 - After noting the requirement that the Commissioner specify the petition date in the notice of deficiency, the Senate Finance Committee report explained that the taxpayer “should be able to rely on the computation of that period by the IRS.” S. Rept. 105-174, at 90 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 537, 626; see also H. Rept. 105-364 (Part 1), at 71 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 373, 443. This passage indicates that the justification behind the addition of the last sentence of section 6213(a) was to protect those taxpayers who, absent some form of relief, would have detrimentally relied on the Commissioner’s miscalculation of the petition date. The theory of detrimental reliance assumes the actual provision of misleading information upon which a party could rely. This case, however, does not involve the provision of misinformation. Although petitioner appears to argue on brief that the failure to provide the petition date in the notice led him to believe that he did not have to file his petition within the 90-day period,4 we find such argument implausible. As discussed above, the notice of deficiency issued to petitioner clearly provided that his petition had to be filed within 90 days of the mailing of the notice, and it emphasized the consequence 4 Petitioner’s specific argument reads as follows: “Petitioner received the notice of deficiency, but did not file a Petition with the Tax Court within 90 days from the date of the notice of deficiency, since the notice of deficiency did not specify the last date on which Petitioner could file a Petition.”Page: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011