- 11 -
satisfy a tax liability by making scheduled periodic payments
until the liability is fully paid” (emphasis added)); Internal
Revenue Manual, sec. 5.14.1.1 (effective Oct. 18, 1999, to
Mar. 30, 2002); see also Willis v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2003-
302. In any event, petitioners make no claim, and the record
provides no basis for concluding, that they entered into an offer
in compromise with respondent.7
We are also unpersuaded by petitioners’ contention that
respondent should be equitably estopped from collecting more than
the $1,455 shown on the Form 433-D. As a general matter, “the
doctrine of equitable estoppel is applied against * * * [the
Commissioner] ‘with the utmost caution and restraint’”. Boulez
v. Commissioner, 76 T.C. 209, 214-215 (1981) (quoting Estate of
Emerson v. Commissioner, 67 T.C. 612, 617-618 (1977)), affd. 810
F.2d 209 (D.C. Cir. 1987); see also Kronish v. Commissioner, 90
T.C. 684, 695 (1988). The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
has held that before the Commissioner may be estopped from
collecting taxes, the taxpayer must establish, in addition to the
usual elements of estoppel, “‘affirmative [mis]conduct going
beyond mere negligence’ and must also show ‘that the government’s
act will cause a serious injustice and the imposition of estoppel
7 After respondent informed petitioners that they owed
additional amounts for 1992, petitioners submitted an offer in
compromise offering to pay zero taxes consistent with the
installment agreement. Respondent rejected petitioners’ offer in
compromise for a failure to submit sufficient information.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011