- 6 -
hearing, a hearing shall be held before an impartial officer or
employee of the IRS Office of Appeals. Sec. 6330(b)(1), (3).
At the hearing, a taxpayer may raise any relevant issue,
including appropriate spousal defenses, challenges to the
appropriateness of the collection action, and collection
alternatives. Sec. 6330(c)(2)(A). Additionally, a taxpayer may
contest the existence or amount of the underlying tax liability
if the taxpayer did not receive a notice of deficiency for the
tax in question or did not otherwise have an earlier opportunity
to dispute the tax liability. Sec. 6330(c)(2)(B); see also Sego
v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 604, 609 (2000).
Following the hearing, the Appeals Office must make a
determination whether the proposed levy action may proceed. In
so doing, the Appeals Office is required to take into
consideration the verification presented by the Commissioner, the
issues raised by the taxpayer, and whether the proposed levy
action appropriately balances the need for efficient collection
of taxes with a taxpayer’s concerns regarding the intrusiveness
of the proposed levy action. Sec. 6330(c)(3).
This Court has jurisdiction to review the Commissioner’s
administrative determination under section 6330(d). If the
underlying tax liability is properly at issue, the Court reviews
that issue de novo. Sego v. Commissioner, supra at 610; Goza v.
Commissioner, 114 T.C. 176, 181 (2000).
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011