H&H Trim & Upholstery Co., Inc. - Page 8




                                        - 8 -                                         
          Accrued-But-Unassessed Interest as of January 15, 1997                      
               In January 1997, petitioner contacted respondent and asked             
          for a payoff amount for its then-outstanding Federal employment             
          tax liabilities.  For the fourth quarter of 1993, respondent’s              
          employee quoted petitioner an erroneous payoff amount that failed           
          to take into account interest and additions to tax that had                 
          accrued but had not yet been assessed.  Unaware of respondent’s             
          error, petitioner paid this payoff amount on January 15, 1997,              
          but now suggests that, because respondent failed to include                 
          accrued but unassessed interest in the payoff amount, such                  
          interest should be abated.  Petitioner’s position is without                
          merit.                                                                      
               In effect, petitioner asks to be relieved of this interest             
          liability because respondent failed to notify petitioner that the           
          interest was due.  There is no suggestion that petitioner was not           
          otherwise liable for that interest, and petitioner readily                  
          acknowledges that, had it been made aware of such interest, it              
          would have paid the interest on January 15, 1997.  Under these              
          circumstances, we do not consider the unassessed interest that              
          accrued prior to January 16, 1997, to be unfair.  Because that              
          interest is not otherwise excessive in amount, assessed after the           
          expiration of the period of limitations, or erroneously or                  
          illegally assessed, section 6404(a) does not provide respondent             
          with the authority to abate that unpaid interest.  Because there            






Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011