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Inc. v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 324, 327-328 (1974) (“we will not
look into respondent’s alleged failure to issue a 30-day letter
to the petitioners or to afford them a conference before the
Appellate Division”).
Lacking any legal authority to support his argument,
petitioner argues that it would be unfair to require a taxpayer
to exhaust his administrative remedies as a condition to being
eligible to recover legal fees under section 7430 where the
Commissioner fails to give the taxpayer the opportunity to pursue
the administrative remedies. This concern is easily disposed of
by reviewing the language of section 7430. Section 7430(b)(1)
requires the taxpayer only to exhaust “the administrative
remedies available to such party within the Internal Revenue
Service.” (Emphasis added.) If the Commissioner does not
provide an available administrative remedy, then the taxpayer’s
rights are not impaired by the failure to pursue that remedy.
In light of the overwhelming body of specific authority
rejecting petitioner’s argument, the lack of any legal support
for petitioner’s argument, and the lack of any genuine basis for
seeking a change in the law, we hold that petitioner’s “Delpit”
argument is frivolous and groundless within the meaning of
section 6673(a)(1)(B).7
7By a parity of reasoning, as well as the lack of a specific
provision in sec. 6673(a)(1) for imposition of a penalty against
(continued...)
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