Connie A. Washington - Page 27

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                    a.   Refund to the Extent Attributable to the                     
                         Application of Section 6015                                  
               In general, section 6015(g)(1) allows a credit or refund “to           
          the extent attributable to the application of this section.”                
          Section 6015 applies “to any liability for tax arising after the            
          date of the enactment of this Act [July 22, 1998] and any liability         
          for tax arising on or before such date but remaining unpaid as of           
          such date.”  RRA 1998, sec. 3201(g), 112 Stat. 740.9  Respondent            
          interprets the term “remaining unpaid” so as to limit the benefits          
          of section 6015 in this case to the portion of the 1989 tax                 
          liability that remained uncollected as of July 22, 1998, the date           
          of enactment of section 6015.  We disagree with respondent’s                
          interpretation.                                                             
               While the issue involved herein is one of first impression in          
          this Court, we are mindful that it has been addressed by the United         
          States Court of Federal Claims in Flores v. United States, 51 Fed.          
          Cl. 49 (2001).  In Flores, the court granted relief under section           
          6015(f) with respect to the taxpayer’s entire tax liability,                
          including the portion of the tax liability that was paid on or              
          before July 22, 1998.                                                       


               9    On July 17, 2002, respondent adopted regulations under            
          sec. 6015 that support respondent’s position.  See sec. 1.6015-8,           
          Income Tax Regs.  The regulations, however, are applicable for all          
          elections or requests for relief filed on or after July 18, 2002.           
          Sec. 1.6015-9, Income Tax Regs.  Thus, the regulations do not apply         
          to petitioner’s request for relief, which was filed before that             
          date.                                                                       





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