- 11 -
2004-163; Fargo v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2004-13, affd.
447 F.3d 706 (9th Cir. 2006). Nor do we usually consider
arguments, issues, or other matters raised for the first time at
trial, but we limit ourselves to matter brought to the attention
of Appeals. See Murphy v. Commissioner, supra at 308; Magana v.
Commissioner, 118 T.C. 488, 493 (2002). “[E]vidence that * * *
[a taxpayer] might have presented at the section 6330 hearing
(but chose not to) is not admissible in a trial conducted
pursuant to section 6330(d)(1) because it is not relevant to the
question of whether the Appeals officer abused her discretion.”
Murphy v. Commissioner, supra at 315.10
Section 6330(c)(2)(A)(iii) allows a taxpayer to offer to
compromise a Federal tax debt as a collection alternative to a
proposed levy. Section 7122(c) authorizes the Commissioner to
10 In Murphy v. Commissioner, 125 T.C. 301 (2005), the Court
declined to include in the record external evidence relating to
facts not presented to Appeals. The Court distinguished
Robinette v. Commissioner, 123 T.C. 85 (2004), revd. 439 F.3d 455
(8th Cir. 2006), and held that the external evidence was
inadmissible in that it was not relevant to the issue of whether
Appeals abused its discretion. In a memorandum that petitioners
filed with the Court on April 13, 2006, pursuant to an order of
the Court directing petitioners to explain the relevancy of any
external evidence that they desired to include in the record of
this case, petitioners made no claim that they had offered any of
the external evidence to Cochran. Instead, as we read
petitioners’ memorandum in the light of the record as a whole,
petitioners wanted to include the external evidence in the record
of this case to prove that Cochran abused her discretion by not
considering facts and documents that they had consciously decided
not to give to her. Consistent with Murphy v. Commissioner,
supra, we sustained respondent’s relevancy objections to the
external evidence.
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