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mean “fair”. As we view the matter, when used in the context of
interest, the plain meaning of the word “excessive” takes into
account the concept of what is fair, or more appropriate here,
unfair.
According to petitioner, it would be unfair to hold it
liable for any amount of interest in excess of the erroneous
payoff amount provided by respondent in January 1997.4
Petitioner’s position extends to all of the unpaid interest
related to its employment tax liability for the fourth quarter of
1993, but we think it is more appropriate to focus on
petitioner’s position as it relates to specific periods over
which the interest accrued. Cf. Donovan v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2000-220.
4 Petitioner’s position implicitly suggests that the
obligation to keep track of its employment tax liability
(including interest) was respondent’s, rather than its own.
Neither party expressly addressed this point, and, in the absence
of a disagreement between the parties, we likewise decline to do
so. Nevertheless, under the circumstances of this case, we
proceed as though petitioner could, and did, reasonably expect
that the information provided by respondent’s employee was
accurate. Cf. Krugman v. Commissioner, 112 T.C. 230 (1999)
(respondent conceded that the Government’s failure to provide a
taxpayer with the correct payoff amount was an appropriate ground
for an interest abatement); Douponce v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
1999-398 (holding that, where the Government mistakenly provided
a taxpayer with an incorrect payoff amount, the Government’s
failure to abate some of the interest that accrued thereafter was
an abuse of discretion).
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