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respect to the tax; and (2) no significant aspect of such delay
can be attributed to the taxpayer involved. Sec. 6404(e)(1).3
In accordance with the provisions of section 6404(i), a taxpayer
whose claim for abatement under section 6404(e) has been denied
may petition this Court for a determination whether the
Commissioner’s failure to abate interest was an abuse of
discretion.
In this case petitioner seeks abatement of interest with
respect to a Federal income tax liability assessed pursuant to
amounts reported on her 1990 original and amended returns.
Generally, the relief provided by section 6404 is not available
under those circumstances. As noted in the legislative history
of that section, “if a taxpayer files a return but does not pay
the taxes due, * * * [section 6404] would not permit abatement of
this interest regardless of how long the IRS took to contact the
taxpayer and request payment.” S. Rept. 99-313 (1985), 1986-3
C.B. (Vol. 3) 1, 208; see also Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
2002-1.
Moreover, petitioner has failed to demonstrate that the
3 In 1996, sec. 6404(e) was amended by sec. 301 of the
Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, Pub. L. 104-168, 110 Stat. 1457
(1996), to permit the Secretary to abate interest with respect to
“unreasonable” error or delay resulting from “managerial” and
ministerial acts. This amendment, however, applies to interest
accruing with respect to deficiencies or payments for tax years
beginning after July 30, 1996. This case involves petitioner’s
1990 tax year; therefore, the amendment is inapplicable here.
Woodral v. Commissioner, 112 T.C. 19, 25 n.8 (1999).
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