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days following the issuance of the determination to file a
petition for review with the Tax Court or a Federal District
Court, as appropriate. The taxpayer may appeal the determination
to the Tax Court, rather than a Federal District Court, if the
Tax Court generally has jurisdiction over the type of tax
involved in the case. Sec. 6330(d)(1)(A); Downing v.
Commissioner, 118 T.C. 22, 26 (2002); Landry v. Commissioner, 116
T.C. 60, 62 (2001). Section 6330(e)(1) suspends the levy action
until the conclusion of the hearing and any judicial review of
the determination.
Where the underlying tax liability is properly at issue in
the hearing, we review that issue on a de novo basis. Goza v.
Commissioner, 114 T.C. 176, 181-182 (2000). Where the underlying
tax liability is not at issue, however, we review the
determination to see whether there has been an abuse of
discretion. Id. In this case, respondent’s determination
regarding whether petitioner’s unpaid tax liabilities may be
collected by levy requires an interpretation of bankruptcy law.
If respondent’s determination was based on erroneous views of the
law and petitioner’s unpaid liabilities may not be collected by
levy, then we must reject respondent’s view and find that there
was an abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Swanson v. Commissioner,
121 T.C. 111, 119 (2003); Ramsdell v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
2003-317.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011