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On October 7, 2002, respondent issued to petitioner a Full
Disallowance-Final Determination, disallowing petitioner’s
request for an abatement of interest. Respondent denied the
request on the basis of the following:
We did not find any errors or delays relating to the
performance of a ministerial act by an IRS employee. The
law allows for possible interest abatement only when there
is an error or delay caused by an IRS employee in performing
a ministerial act, which is defined as a procedural or
mechanical act that does not involve the exercise of
judgment or discretion. In your claim and in your appeal
letter, you requested abatement of all the assessed interest
on the 1994 tax account. You did not contend that there was
any error or delay by the IRS in the process of assessing
the additional tax liability on the 1994 tax account. You
simply stated that you thought you had full paid the amount
of additional tax liability due, and that once the tax
liability was paid, you understood that the assessed
interest amount could be negotiated for abatement. You then
explained that you have financial problems and requested
that the assessed interest be abated due to your inability
to pay. However, a review of the requirements of the law
[IRC section 6404(e)] reveals that interest assessed on the
tax account cannot be abated unless the specific
requirements of the law are met. There is no provision in
this law to negotiate the amount of interest due required by
the law or to consider reasons of ‘inability to pay’.
Therefore, your claim for interest abatement cannot be
allowed.
On October 28, 2002, petitioner filed a Petition for Review of
Failure to Abate Interest Under Code Section 6404 with the Court
disputing respondent’s determination.
OPINION
Section 6404(e)(1) provides that the Commissioner may abate
the assessment of interest on payment of tax to the extent a
delay in such payment is attributable to any error or delay by an
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