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The majority concludes that the Court has jurisdiction over this
case because, they find, the Commissioner (1) treated
petitioner’s request solely for equitable relief as a request for
all three types of relief under section 6015 and (2) considered
whether petitioner qualified for any of those types of relief.
The majority understands that the so-found Commissioner’s
treatment of petitioner’s request is dictated by the
1(...continued)
distinct types of relief from joint liability, the first in sec.
6015(b), the second in sec. 6015(c), and the third in sec.
6015(f). Congress referred to these respective types of relief
as modified innocent spouse relief contained in the House bill,
the separate liability election contained in the Senate
amendment, and equitable relief contained in the conference
agreement. The majority makes no mention of the distinction that
Congress drew between these three types of relief, a distinction
which, as discussed herein, has been recognized not only by
Congress, but by the Joint Committee of Taxation and the Treasury
Department as well. As I read the majority opinion, the Court’s
jurisdiction to decide this case involving solely equitable
relief is found in the fact that the Senate amendment gave the
Court jurisdiction over all forms of relief set forth in the
amendment and “The Senate amendment * * * [included] an
‘Equitable Relief’ provision similar to what is now contained in
section 6015(f)”. Majority op. p. 11. I disagree with the
majority that the Senate amendment gave the Court jurisdiction
over a claim for equitable relief under sec. 6015(f) in the case
of a stand-alone petition. The Senate’s equitable relief
provision was never adopted by the conferees. The mere fact that
the Senate amendment may have been “similar” to the conferees’
equitable relief provision, an assertion made by the majority but
to which I disagree (but for the fact that both provisions are
called “equitable relief”), does not mean that the conferees
intended that their equitable relief provision, which was not
contained in either the House bill or the Senate amendment, would
follow the jurisdictional rules set forth in the Senate
amendment. The equitable relief provision contained in sec.
6015(f) arose in conference, and the conferees never provided
that the Court would have jurisdiction as to that provision in
the case of a stand-alone petition.
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