- 16 - dated February 6, 1995, and closed the case on May 18, 1995. The order confirming the plan specifically discharged petitioner and Mrs. Wood. Therefore, the automatic stay of Bankruptcy Code section 362 was lifted no later than May 18, 1995, when the order closing the case was entered. Respondent issued to petitioner and Mrs. Wood a notice of deficiency for 1994 on December 21, 1998, and a notice of deficiency for 1995 and 1996 on July 19, 1999. Thus, the notices of deficiency were issued, and the petitions in these cases were filed, well after the automatic stay in petitioner and Mrs. Wood’s bankruptcy case was lifted. Petitioner contends, and asks us to rule, that respondent’s claims against him were discharged in bankruptcy. We do not have authority in these cases to decide whether respondent’s claims against petitioner have been discharged because in a deficiency proceeding our subject matter jurisdiction is generally limited to the redetermination of the correct amount of a deficiency determined by the Commissioner and is unrelated to the collection of the tax. Swanson v. Commissioner, 65 T.C. 1180, 1184 (1976). An action brought for redetermination of a deficiency “has nothing to do with collection of the tax nor any similarity to an action for collection of a debt”. Id. Thus, in deficiency proceedings commenced in this Court under section 6213, such as these cases, while we have jurisdiction to redetermine thePage: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Next
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