- 10 - partnership proceeding notices from the IRS). The failure to give such notices, therefore, is not an error requiring abatement of interest. Although it may provide no comfort to petitioner, the delays experienced in processing her case were not unusual during the period from 1984 to 1992. A large number of tax shelter cases were filed in this Court during the late 1970s and early 1980s as a result of tax shelter programs such as those promoted by Swanton. The large number of cases led to specialized responses by the IRS, by the Court, and by Congress. The response of Congress included the increased rate of interest accruing under former section 6621(c) applicable to deficiencies attributable to tax-motivated transactions, as explained in H. Rept. 98-861, at 985-986 (1984), 1984-3 C.B. (Vol. 2) 239-240: The provision is effective with respect to interest accruing after December 31, 1984, regardless of the date the return was filed. The conferees note that a number of the provisions of recent legislation have been designed, in whole or in part, to deal with the Tax Court backlog. Examples of these provisions are the increased damages assessable for instituting or maintaining Tax Court proceedings primarily for delay or that are frivolous or groundless (sec. 6673), the adjustment of interest rates (sec. 6621), the valuation overstatement and substantial understatement penalties (secs. 6659 and 6661), and the tax straddle rules (secs. 1092 and 1256). * * * The conferees believe that, with this amendment, the Congress has given the Tax Court sufficient tools to manage its docket, and that the responsibility for effectively managing that docket and reducing thePage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Next
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