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May 23, 2003, sent to the IRS that had requested removal and
abatement of additions to tax and interest and had included the
payment of $82,820. In that letter, petitioners explained:
the 1999 return involved very unusual circumstances in its
complexity and need for documents involving sales of
renovated real estate. Unfortunate events kept interrupting
our efforts to file in a timely manner, including death of a
parent and estate duties, loss of job, and health problems.
The Appeals officer assigned to petitioners’ case
experienced numerous delays in reaching petitioners and receiving
documentation from them. Finally, on August 9, 2004, the Appeals
officer issued a notice of determination sustaining the levy. In
the notice, the Appeals officer noted that petitioners had not
requested either an installment agreement or an offer-in-
compromise, nor were they eligible for either because they were
delinquent in filing Federal income tax returns for several
years. Petitioners filed a timely petition with this Court
appealing the decision.
The Court must decide whether petitioners are entitled to
relief from the Appeals officer’s determination. Where the
underlying tax liability is properly at issue before the Appeals
officer, this Court reviews that issue on a de novo basis. Goza
v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 176, 181-182 (2000). Although
petitioners did not receive a notice of deficiency and were
entitled to challenge the underlying tax liability, they
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