- 6 - Petitioner’s only request of the Appeals officer was for a delay while he pursued the collection alternative of seeking a private letter ruling on his employment status for the years subject to the enforced collection. Petitioner was afforded additional time, but, instead of seeking a ruling, he applied to respondent’s examination division, which found him to be an employee.1 Collection was delayed for at least 6 months while petitioner sought the administrative resolution of his outstanding tax liabilities. Petitioner contends that respondent abused his discretion by not allowing him an additional stay to seek a ruling. Respondent did not impede petitioner in seeking an alternative to collection. Instead, respondent’s Appeals Officer waited until he received notification that petitioner’s attempt 1 Petitioner, at trial, stated that someone in respondent’s office had told him to seek an examination instead of a private letter ruling. Petitioner, however, was unable to provide the name of the person who might have given him that advice. It is petitioner’s belief that respondent’s examination personnel do not have as much latitude in deciding employment status and that he would have been successful in seeking a private letter ruling because the individuals who consider rulings have a broader spectrum of matter they can consider in the process. Petitioner contends that he is entitled to extra time before collection is permitted, because it was respondent’s “error” to send him to the wrong place for relief. Petitioner has not shown a sufficient factual predicate for his argument. Even if petitioner had shown that he had received the alleged advice from someone in respondent’s office, petitioner was not forced to seek one type of relief rather than another. It was his choice to seek an examination of his employment status, rather than seeking a ruling during the time allotted.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011