Joseph G. Dostal - Page 19

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             First, contrary to petitioner’s assertion, the Appeals                   
             officer did not suspend her consideration of the offer-in-               
             compromise because petitioner had failed to meet his filing              
             requirements.  Rather, the Appeals officer took that action              
             after petitioner’s attorney disclosed that petitioner’s                  
             unpaid tax liability for 2003 was $70,000.  The Appeals                  
             officer had no reason to doubt this disclosure and no way                
             of knowing that petitioner’s return, when it was filed                   
             approximately 5 months later, would report an unpaid tax                 
             liability of $5,160.  In response to that disclosure, the                
             Appeals officer advised petitioner’s attorney that she                   
             could no longer consider the offer-in-compromise because                 
             petitioner had not complied with the “payment requirements”              
             for his 2003 return.                                                     
                  In this case, we cannot fault the Appeals officer for               
             her concern about the fact that petitioner had, according                
             to his attorney, allowed a substantial additional tax                    
             liability to accrue for 2003 without payment.  For example,              
             in Orum v. Commissioner, 412 F.3d 819, 821 (7th Cir. 2005),              
             affg. 123 T.C. 1 (2004), the court stated as follows:                    

                  It would not do the Treasury any good if                            
                  taxpayers used the money owed for 2004 to pay                       
                  taxes due for 1998, the money owned for 2005 to                     
                  pay taxes for 1999, and so on.  That would spawn                    
                  more collection cycles yet leave a substantial                      
                  unpaid balance.  The Service’s goal is to reduce                    
                  and ultimately eliminate the entire tax debt,                       





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