- 16 - indicating petitioner’s present or future medical expenses will cause him to be unable to pay his basic living expenses. As to petitioner’s asserted increasing expenses due to health problems, Ms. Cochran determined that “the taxpayer failed to document economic hardship” and the present offer “must be considered within the framework of present facts”. Petitioner reported monthly medical expenses of $1,747 on his Form 433-A, which Ms. Cochran accepted. Petitioner did not report or substantiate future amounts of increased medical expenses. Given the information presented to her, it was not arbitrary or capricious for Ms. Cochran to ignore speculative future medical costs when making her final determination. Therefore, this Court rejects petitioner’s assertion that Ms. Cochran failed to consider his current and future medical costs. Petitioner also asserts that Ms. Cochran abused her discretion by using a longer period (116 months) for evaluating income from future earnings when petitioner stated he would retire early because of health problems. Although petitioner stated he may retire, he did not state that he would retire by a certain date or that there was a mandatory retirement age. Even when a 48-month period is used to determine future earnings, petitioner’s income potential of $151,872 still exceedsPage: Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011