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agreements. In responding to petitioner’s argument, Appeals
Officer Sivick did not address the content of the settlement
agreements or their possible effect on petitioner’s 1983 taxable
year. Indeed, the substance of Appeals Officer Sivick’s response
suggests that he was unaware of the settlement agreements’
relevance to petitioner’s tax matter.
Overall, petitioner made a reasonable and good-faith effort
to disclose to Appeals Officer Sivick all relevant information in
the context and development of the case at the time of the
conference. See Allen v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-302.
Accordingly, we conclude that petitioner exhausted the
administrative remedies available to him.
C. Reasonableness of Costs Claimed
Section 7430(c)(1) defines reasonable litigation costs to
include, among other things, reasonable court costs and
reasonable fees paid or incurred for the services of attorneys in
connection with the court proceeding (attorney’s fees).
Attorney’s fees are limited by statute and adjusted for cost of
living. Sec. 7430(c)(1)(B)(iii) (and flush language). For
purposes of this motion, the statutory rate for attorney’s fees
is $150 per hour. See Rev. Proc. 2002-70, 2002-2 C.B. 845, 850.
A taxpayer may recover attorney’s fees in excess of the statutory
limit in the presence of one or more of the following special
factors: (1) Limited availability of qualified attorneys for the
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