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B. Impartiality of the Appeals Officer
Petitioners have, throughout the administrative and
litigation process, consistently objected to the consideration of
their 2001 and 2002 years by Mr. Skidmore on grounds of prior
involvement. Section 6330(b)(3) subsumes in the statutory right
to a fair hearing the requirement of an impartial officer: “The
hearing under this subsection shall be conducted by an officer or
employee who has had no prior involvement with respect to the
unpaid tax specified in subsection (a)(3)(A) before the first
hearing under this section or section 6320. A taxpayer may waive
the requirement of this paragraph.” Petitioners’ position is
that Mr. Skidmore’s looking into their 2001 and 2002 liabilities
in connection with his handling of the 1999 and 2000 years
constitutes disqualifying prior involvement. They also allege
more generally that prejudice engendered by his prior dealings
with them prevented Mr. Skidmore from taking an unbiased look at
their 2001 and 2002 years.
With respect to the key phrase “prior involvement”,
regulations amplify the statutory language as set forth below:
Q-D4. What is considered to be prior involvement
by an employee or officer of Appeals with respect to
the tax and tax period or periods involved in the
hearing?
A-D4. Prior involvement by an employee or officer
of Appeals includes participation or involvement in an
Appeals hearing (other than a CDP hearing held under
either section 6320 or section 6330) that the taxpayer
may have had with respect to the tax and tax periods
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