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as much as the IRS said, because they should have received
dependency exemptions for their children. During the hearing,
Mr. Mays explained that he wanted the IRS to give his children
ITINs--individual taxpayer identification numbers--instead of
having them use Social Security numbers. The appeals officer
presiding at the hearing demurred; because the Mays children were
eligible for Social Security numbers, he concluded they could not
be issued ITINs.1 The Mayses asked for a final determination at
the hearing so they could petition this Court to decide whether
the Commissioner was right.
The appeals officer quickly accommodated them. The Mays,
then as now residents of Texas, timely filed a petition and then
agreed to submit the case for decision on stipulated facts.
Discussion
Once the Commissioner assesses a tax, he is allowed to
collect any unpaid portion of it by filing liens against, and
levying on, a taxpayer’s property. But first (with some
exceptions that aren’t present here), he has to notify the
taxpayer whose property he wants to take. He does this with
1 Sec. 301.6109-1(a)(1)(ii)(A) and (B), Proced. & Admin.
Regs. The regulations also provide that anyone “who is duly
assigned a social security number or who is entitled to a social
security number will not be issued an IRS individual taxpayer
number.” Sec. 301.6109-1(d)(4), Proced. & Admin. Regs.; see
Miller v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 511, 519 (2000); Cansino v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-134; Davis v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2000-210.
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