- 18 -
her 1992 tax liability), we do not believe we should assume,
without explicit statutory authority, jurisdiction either to
determine an overpayment or to order a refund or credit of taxes
paid in a section 6330 collection proceeding.19 As discussed
below, this conclusion is reinforced by the absence in section
6330 of the traditional statutory limitations on the allowance of
refunds or credits of taxes.
Section 6511 contains detailed limitations on the allowance
of tax credits or refunds generally. Section 6511(a) sets out
the requisite time periods for filing a claim for credit or
refund.20 Section 6511(b)(2) limits the amount of tax to be
refunded to two so-called look-back periods: (1) For claims
filed within 3 years of filing the return, the refund is
19 We do not mean to suggest that this Court is foreclosed
from considering whether the taxpayer has paid more than was
owed, where such a determination is necessary for a correct and
complete determination of whether the proposed collection action
should proceed. Conceivably, there could be a collection action
review proceeding where (unlike the instant case) the proposed
collection action is not moot and where pursuant to sec.
6330(c)(2)(B), the taxpayer is entitled to challenge “the
existence or amount of the underlying tax liability”. In such a
case, the validity of the proposed collection action might depend
upon whether the taxpayer has any unpaid balance, which might
implicate the question of whether the taxpayer has paid more than
was owed.
20 Sec. 6511 requires a taxpayer to file a refund claim
“within 3 years from the time the return was filed or 2 years
from the time the tax was paid, whichever of such periods expires
the later, or if no return was filed by the taxpayer, within 2
years from the time the tax was paid.” Sec. 6511(a); see sec.
6511(b)(1); Commissioner v. Lundy, 516 U.S. 235, 240 (1996).
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