Howard and Everlina Washington - Page 19




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               WELLS, C.J., concurring:  I respectfully concur in this                
          Court's decision to exercise jurisdiction in the instant case to            
          decide whether a tax liability has been discharged in bankruptcy.           
          I write to note, however, that our opinion does not necessarily             
          preclude taxpayers from seeking review in an appropriate Bank-              
          ruptcy Court after they have petitioned this Court.  Although the           
          issue to be decided in the instant case is relatively straight-             
          forward, it is possible that taxpayers will present this Court              
          with more difficult questions that may be better suited for                 
          consideration by a Bankruptcy Court.  Under such circumstances,             
          this Court may defer to a Bankruptcy Court to decide the matter.            
          Such deference would not be premised upon any concerns that we              
          lack jurisdictional capacity to consider the issue.  Rather, it             
          would be based upon considerations of comity and judicial effi-             
          ciency, combined with our recognition that this Court does not              
          deal with bankruptcy matters with the expertise that a Bankruptcy           
          Court possesses.  See Kluger v. Commissioner, 83 T.C. 309, 320              
          (1984).                                                                     
               GERBER, BEGHE, and FOLEY, JJ., agree with this concurring              
          opinion.                                                                    














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