- 15 - misrepresented that petitioner would be entitled to refunds under section 6015(c). In that case, the issue was whether an offer in compromise could be set aside where the taxpayer entered into the agreement after being told by an agent of the Government that the tax liabilities covered in the agreement were not barred by the statute of limitations. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the misrepresentation by the agent induced the offer in compromise, and therefore the agreement was voidable for misrepresentation. Id. at 71-72. The circumstances of this case are distinguishable. As shown by our previous findings, any misrepresentation by Mr. Zukle did not induce the offer in compromise. If anything, Mr. Zukle’s statement that petitioner would be entitled to refunds under section 6015(c) should have induced petitioner to withdraw the pending offer, at least during the period before the mistake was corrected through Mr. McCabe’s diligence. Accordingly, the offer in compromise is not voidable for misrepresentation. In his answering brief, petitioner argues for the first time that the doctrine of equitable estoppel applies. Our practice is not to consider new issues raised for the first time in an answering brief. Krause v. Commissioner, 99 T.C. 132, 177 (1992), affd. sub nom. Hildebrand v. Commissioner, 28 F.3d 1024 (10th Cir. 1994); Weiss v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-17 n.5. The parties submitted the issue fully stipulated, and there is noPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011