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the right to a hearing before an impartial officer of
respondent’s Appeals Office.13
At the section 6330 hearing, the Appeals officer must verify
that the requirements of any applicable law or administrative
procedure have been met. Sec. 6330(c)(1). The person may raise
any relevant issue relating to the unpaid tax or the proposed
levy, including appropriate spousal defenses, challenges to the
appropriateness of collection actions, and offers of collection
alternatives such as an offer-in-compromise. Sec. 6330(c)(2)(A).
The person may challenge the existence or amount of the
underlying tax liability, however, only if the person did not
receive any statutory notice of deficiency for such tax liability
or did not otherwise have an opportunity to dispute such tax
liability. Sec. 6330(c)(2)(B).
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Appeals officer must
determine whether and how to proceed with collection. See sec.
6330(c)(3). In making that determination, the Appeals officer
must take the following into consideration: (1) Verification
that the requirements of any applicable law or administrative
procedure have been met; (2) relevant issues raised by the
taxpayer; (3) appropriate challenges to the underlying tax
13Such prior notification under sec. 6330(a), however, is
not required where the Secretary finds that the collection of the
tax is in jeopardy. Secs. 6331(a), 6330(f). We discuss that
exception in greater detail below.
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