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tax or an addition to tax that is subject to our deficiency
jurisdiction.13 Accordingly, we would hold that this Court’s
review of such adjudications is not properly the subject of de
novo proceedings.
E. Procedural Consistency
1. In General
The majority opinion states that “[a]doption of respondent’s
position would lead to the anomaly of proceedings in some section
6015(f) cases on the basis of the Commissioner’s administrative
record and trials de novo in others.” Majority op. p. 17.
Assuming that a trial de novo would be appropriate in certain
circumstances, see sec. 6015(e)(1)(A)(i)(II),14 we maintain that a
de novo determination of eligibility for section 6015(f) relief
on one hand, and a review of the Commissioner’s denial of such
13 That is true even when the taxpayer seeks review of the
Commissioner’s denial of sec. 6015(f) relief as part of a
deficiency case. In that situation, the Commissioner’s exercise
of discretion may determine the taxpayer’s liability for any
deficiency ultimately assessed but has no bearing on the
existence or amount of that deficiency. If a taxpayer were to
challenge the Commissioner’s denial of relief in a subsequent
deficiency proceeding, we see no reason why we could not conduct
a trial de novo regarding the existence or amount of the
deficiency while disposing of any sec. 6015(f) denial on the
basis of its administrative record.
14 The majority cites Butler v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276
(2000), in support of the proposition that, if a taxpayer
challenges the Commissioner’s denial of sec. 6015(f) relief in a
subsequent deficiency proceeding, the trial de novo with respect
to the deficiency extends to our disposition of the sec. 6015(f)
issue. As explained in note 13, we disagree. The Court, of
course, did not address that issue in Butler.
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