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silence. Moreover, we conclude that it was unreasonable as a
matter of law for petitioners to base their $80,000 refund claim
on the lack of a warning on respondent’s website regarding
slavery reparations claims. See, e.g., Johnson v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1993-272 (paying a refund to the taxpayers did not
estop the Commissioner from later determining a deficiency in the
same year on the ground that the transaction underlying the
taxpayers’ refund claim was a sham).
We likewise conclude that the special agent’s remarks to
petitioners, that they would not be required to repay the refund,
do not warrant the application of equitable estoppel against
respondent. The special agent’s statement was not a statement of
fact but rather was one of law. Further, we are not convinced
that petitioners suffered a detriment as a result of the special
agent’s statement. See, e.g., Nolte v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
1995-57 (holding taxpayers did not suffer any significant
detriment as the result of Commissioner’s earlier erroneous
statement that tax liability for years in question was “paid in
full” because taxpayers would have been liable for deficiencies
whether or not Commissioner made the misstatement), affd. by
unpublished opinion 99 F.3d 1146 (9th Cir. 1996).
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