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The first appearance of what is now the flush language of
section 6015(a) (the disputed language) occurred in 1998, in the
Senate amendment to the just-described House bill. Whereas the
House had agreed to liberalize the type of relief available under
former section 6013(e), the Senate agreed to a different type of
relief: in the case of a deficiency arising from a joint return,
the Senate amendment would have permitted the spouse to elect to
be liable only to the extent that items giving rise to the
deficiency were allocable to the spouse.2 For this purpose, under
the Senate amendment, as under current section 6015(c), items
were generally allocated between spouses in the same manner as
they would have been allocated if the spouses had filed separate
returns. The Senate amendment, like the disputed language of
current section 6015(a), states that “Any determination under
this section shall be made without regard to community property
laws.” H.R. 2676, sec. 3201(a), as amended and passed by the
Senate on May 7, 1998. The report of the Senate Finance
Committee explains this provision as follows: “The allocation of
items is to be accomplished without regard to community property
laws.” S. Rept. 105-174, at 56 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 537, 592.
2 The Senate amendment also provided additional relief in
situations where tax was shown on a return but not paid with the
return. This type of relief was not included in the conference
agreement. See H. Rept. 105-599, at 254 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 747,
1008. The Senate amendment also contained provision for
“equitable relief”, a version of which is now found in sec.
6015(f).
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