Caspian Consulting Group, Inc. - Page 4

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          involving the determination of any tax, interest, or penalty                
          pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.  An award of litigation              
          costs may be made where the taxpayer (1) is the “prevailing                 
          party”, (2) exhausted available administrative remedies, (3) did            
          not unreasonably protract the judicial proceeding, and (4)                  
          claimed reasonable litigation costs.  Sec. 7430(a), (b)(1), (3),            
          and (c).  These requirements are conjunctive, and failure to                
          satisfy any one will preclude an award of costs to petitioner.              
          See Minahan v. Commissioner, 88 T.C. 492, 497 (1987).                       
               Respondent contends that petitioner unreasonably protracted            
          the proceedings and that the costs claimed are not reasonable.              
          I.  Unreasonably Protracting the Proceedings                                
               Pursuant to section 7430(b)(3), “No award for reasonable               
          * * * costs may be made * * * with respect to any portion of the            
          * * * court proceeding during which the prevailing party has                
          unreasonably protracted such proceeding.”                                   
               Respondent argues that petitioner unreasonably protracted              
          the proceedings by failing to fully participate in the Appeals              
          conference and provide evidence until the time of trial.                    
          Petitioner contends that all the documents introduced in the                
          trial of this case were made available to respondent before the             
          issuance of the notice of deficiency.                                       
               Petitioner’s attorney did participate and meet with Appeals.           
          Moreover, there is no evidence that petitioner protracted the               






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