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Appeals hearing so as to compel the attendance or
examination of witnesses. When it enacted section
6330, Congress did not provide either Appeals or
taxpayers with statutory authority to subpoena
witnesses. The references in section 6330 to a hearing
by Appeals indicate that Congress contemplated the type
of informal administrative Appeals hearing that has
been historically conducted by Appeals and prescribed
by section 601.106(c), Statement of Procedural Rules.
The nature of the administrative Appeals process does
not include the taking of testimony under oath or the
compulsory attendance of witnesses. * * * [Id. at 41-
42; fn. ref. omitted; emphasis added.]
In Katz v. Commissioner, 115 T.C. 329, 337 (2000), we held that
the Appeals officer may conduct the hearing by telephone. In
Nestor v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 162, 166-167 (2002), we held
that the IRS was not required to provide assessment records to
the taxpayer at the hearing. In some instances, we have affirmed
the Appeals officer’s determination when no hearing was
conducted. See Lunsford v. Commissioner, 117 T.C. 183, 189
(2001). In Keene v. Commissioner, 121 T.C. 8 (2003), we held
that while the IRS is not required to record the hearing, the
taxpayer may make an audio record.
The “administrative record” compiled at the hearing is quite
limited. It is nowhere near as comprehensive as the record
required to be compiled at a formal APA hearing. See 5 U.S.C.
sec. 556(e) (“The transcript of testimony and exhibits, together
with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, constitutes
the exclusive record for decision in accordance with * * * [5
U.S.C. section 557]”). Section 6330 hearings were not intended
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