Gloria J. Spurlock - Page 9




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               sufficient for all legal purposes,” respondent could                   
               ignore the deficiency procedures.  This is because the                 
               return is a consent to assessment of tax in our tax                    
               system.  See sec. 6201(a)(1) and sec. 1.6201-1(a)(1),                  
               Income Tax Regs.  Congress has recognized that literal                 
               application of section 6020(b) may create anomalous                    
               results and has provided some explicit safeguards:  The                
               “execution of a return by the [respondent] pursuant to                 
               [section 6020(b)] shall not start the running of the                   
               period of limitations on assessment and collection.”                   
               Sec. 6501(b)(3). * * *  [Id. at 931-932; fn. ref.                      
               omitted.]                                                              
          We concluded that “the substitute return should in no way                   
          preclude a taxpayer’s statutory right to a hearing on the                   
          deficiency and the elements that comprise it.”6  Id. at 936.                
               Section 6201(a)(1) provides that “The Secretary shall assess           
          all taxes determined by the taxpayer or by the Secretary as to              
          which returns or lists are made under this title.”  Although                
          section 6201(a)(1) does not appear to distinguish between the               
          obligations to assess a tax with respect to a return filed by the           
          taxpayer and a return filed by the Commissioner, Congress surely            






               6Petitioner argues that in Millsap v. Commissioner, 91 T.C.            
          926 (1988), the taxpayer did not raise, and this Court did not              
          address, whether the Commissioner could assess an income tax in a           
          case involving a sec. 6020(b) return without going through the              
          deficiency procedures.  However, in the headnote to that opinion,           
          we stated:  “P contends that R’s preparation of a return under              
          authority of sec. 6020(b) does not obviate P’s statutory right to           
          deficiency procedures, including our redetermination of R’s                 
          determination of filing status.”  Id. at 926.  And, we held that            
          “the returns prepared by R do not obviate P’s entitlement to                
          deficiency procedures”.  Id.                                                





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