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period during which the person is prohibited by reason of the
automatic stay from filing such a petition. Nor is there any
cross-reference in section 6015 to the procedures set forth in
section 6213.3 On the other hand, if the taxpayer raises a
section 6015 claim as an affirmative defense in a petition for
redetermination invoking the Court’s deficiency jurisdiction
under section 6213(a), the taxpayer would be able to take
advantage of the benefits of section 6213(f).
Analysis
Consistent with the plain language of 11 U.S.C. section
362(a)(8), which expressly bars “the commencement or continuation
of a proceeding before the United States Tax Court concerning
the debtor”, we conclude that the petition for determination of
relief from joint and several liability in this case was filed in
violation of the automatic stay, and, therefore, we lack
jurisdiction. In short, there is no exception to the automatic
stay under 11 U.S.C. section 362(b) that permits the filing of a
petition for determination of relief from joint and several
liability, nor is there any suggestion in the record that the
bankruptcy court granted petitioner relief from the automatic
3In contrast, when Congress drafted sec. 6404(g) (now sec.
6404(h)) for the purpose of expanding the Court’s jurisdiction to
review requests for abatement of interest, the provision included
special rules expressly referring to sec. 6213. To the same
effect, sec. 7436(d), involving determinations of employment
status, includes a cross-reference to sec. 6213(f).
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Last modified: May 25, 2011