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Appeals Office. Magana v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 488, 493
(2002).
As applicable to the taxable years before this Court,
section 6404(e)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that the
Commissioner may abate the assessment of interest on any
deficiency attributable to any error or delay by an officer or
employee of the Internal Revenue Service (acting in his official
capacity) in performing a ministerial act. A ministerial act
means a procedural or mechanical act that does not involve the
exercise of judgment. Lee v. Commissioner, 113 T.C. 145, 149-150
(1999). An error or delay is taken into account only (1) if no
significant aspect of the error or delay can be attributed to the
taxpayer and (2) after the Internal Revenue Service has contacted
the taxpayer in writing with respect to the deficiency or
payment. Sec. 6404(e)(1).
If a taxpayer fails to file a return and fails to pay the
tax he owes, section 6404(e) would not apply to the interest that
accrues on unpaid taxes before the Commissioner contacts the
taxpayer in writing with respect to the tax. Wright v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-312.
Petitioner bears the burden of proving that respondent
abused his discretion by denying his request for interest
abatement. Rule 142(a); Woodral v. Commissioner, 112 T.C. 19, 23
(1999). In order to prevail, a taxpayer must prove that the
Commissioner exercised this discretion arbitrarily, capriciously,
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