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Under section 6330, a taxpayer is entitled to notice and an
opportunity for a hearing before certain lien and levy actions
are taken by the Commissioner in the process of collecting unpaid
Federal taxes. Section 6330 provides that, upon request and in
the circumstances described therein, a taxpayer has a right to a
“fair hearing”. Sec. 6330(b). A “fair hearing” consists of the
following four elements: (1) An impartial officer will conduct
the hearing; (2) certain issues may be heard such as an offer-in-
compromise; (3) the conducting officer will receive verification
from the Secretary that the requirements of applicable law and
administrative procedure have been met; and (4) a challenge to
the underlying tax liability may be raised only if the taxpayer
did not receive a statutory notice of deficiency or receive an
opportunity to dispute such liability. Sec. 6330(b) and (c); see
Lunsford v. Commissioner, 117 T.C. 183, 183-184 (2001);
Vossbrinck v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-96.
In the present case, the last two elements are not in
dispute. With respect to the first element, section 6330(b)(3)
provides in relevant part: “The hearing * * * shall be conducted
by an officer or employee who has had no prior involvement with
respect to the unpaid tax * * * before the first hearing under
[section 6330]”. Construing the language of section 6330(b)(3)
and the regulation thereunder, we have held that an Appeals
officer is impartial if he or she “did not participate in, and
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Last modified: May 25, 2011