- 20 - expectation, applying the reasonable expense criteria5 of the IRM to reach a payment plan that would reflect their actual ability to pay off the tax liability timely. Petitioners argue that respondent abused his discretion in determining that their proposed installment agreement did not reflect their ability to pay and thus upholding the revenue agent’s determination, based on the financial statement, that petitioners could afford to pay $4,912 per month for the first year, and $7,106 per month thereafter. Petitioners further argue that the record does not reflect the reasoning behind the revenue agent’s calculation of what they can afford to pay and suggest it may be a subjective opinion. Petitioners also suggest that the Appeals Office simply took the actions of the revenue agent at face value without coming to an independent determination of what was an acceptable payment plan. We conclude that respondent did not abuse his discretion in determining that petitioners’ proposed installment agreement did not reflect their ability to pay. We also conclude that respondent did not base his determination of petitioners’ proposed installment agreement on a subjective formula. The revenue agent computed the monthly installment payment under the guidelines of 5Pursuant to the criteria in the IRM, the Appeals officer determined that a number of the expenses petitioners claimed on their financial statements were not allowable. See IRM sec. 5.15.1.3 (2000).Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011