- 2 -
purpose did not violate H’s First Amendment rights to
free exercise of religion.
Tommy E. Swate, for petitioners.
Daniel N. Price, for respondent.
OPINION
THORNTON, Judge: Pursuant to section 6330(d), petitioners
filed a petition for review of an Appeals Office determination
sustaining a proposed levy.1 The primary issue for decision is
whether, in evaluating petitioners’ offer in compromise, the
Appeals officer should have considered petitioners’ alleged
tithing expenses in determining whether they had the ability to
pay their outstanding tax liabilities.2 We must also decide
whether respondent’s disallowance of tithing expenses for this
purpose violates Mr. Pixley’s First Amendment right to free
exercise of religion.
Background
The parties submitted this case fully stipulated pursuant to
Rule 122. We incorporate herein the stipulated facts. When
1 Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to
the Internal Revenue Code as amended, and Rule references are to
the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
2 A “tithe” is “a tenth part of something paid as a
voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of
a religious establishment”. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary 1238 (10th ed. 1997).
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