Howard and Everlina Washington - Page 24




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          6330(c)(2)(A), refers to the unpaid portion of the assessed tax             
          (a fixed amount) that is the subject of the notice of lien or               
          proposed levy that is part of the Commissioner’s collection                 
          function.  That interpretation is consistent with the proviso in            
          section 6330(c)(2)(B) that a petitioner may challenge “the                  
          existence or amount of the underlying tax liability” only if the            
          taxpayer “did not receive any statutory notice of deficiency for            
          such tax liability or did not otherwise have an opportunity to              
          dispute such tax liability.”  That is, a taxpayer may dispute the           
          determination of the tax that formed the basis of the Commis-               
          sioner’s assessment only if he did not have such an opportunity             
          prior to assessment.                                                        
               To summarize, the only issues that a taxpayer may properly             
          raise under section 6330(c)(2)(B), and therefore the only issues            
          with respect to which the reviewing court must accord the tax-              
          payer a hearing de novo, are issues relating to a redetermination           
          of the tax on which the Commissioner based his assessment,                  
          provided that the petitioner did not have an opportunity to seek            
          such a redetermination prior to assessment.  All other challenges           
          to the proposed collection action are properly raised under                 
          section 6330(c)(2)(A), and a taxpayer seeking judicial review of            
          the Appeals officer’s disposition of any such challenge is                  
          restricted to arguing from the record made before the Appeals               
          officer.                                                                    






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Last modified: May 25, 2011