- 15 - bound by every matter that was or could have been offered and received to sustain or defeat the claim. Commissioner v. Sunnen, 333 U.S. 591, 597 (1948); Calcutt v. Commissioner, 91 T.C. 14, 21 (1988). Res judicata applies to tax cases. Commissioner v. Sunnen, supra; Calcutt v. Commissioner, supra. In Commissioner v. Sunnen, supra at 598, the Supreme Court said: Income taxes are levied on an annual basis. Each year is the origin of a new liability and of a separate cause of action. Thus if a claim of liability or non- liability relating to a particular tax year is litigated, a judgment on the merits is res judicata as to any subsequent proceeding involving the same claim and the same tax year. * * * Res judicata applies to all matters which were or might have been offered in the prior case. Nevada v. United States, 463 U.S. 110, 129-130 (1983); Federated Dept. Stores, Inc. v. Moitie, 452 U.S. 394, 398 (1981); Commissioner v. Sunnen, supra at 597. Issues which affect the computation of tax liability that were or could have been litigated in a prior case are part of the cause of action which are barred if res judicata applies. Boyd v. Commissioner, 101 T.C. 365, 371 (1993); Trost v. Commissioner, 95 T.C. 560, 566 (1990). Three requirements must be satisfied for res judicata to preclude relitigation of a taxpayer’s tax liability. Two of these requirements are that: (1) The parties in the second case must be the same as or in privity with the parties in the first case, and (2) the first case must have resulted in a finalPage: Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Next
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