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On July 9, 2003, petitioner appealed to respondent’s Appeals
Office on the grounds that she filed jointly to lower Mr.
Puckett’s tax liability and with the understanding that Mr.
Puckett would pay the tax owing.
On November 3, 2004, respondent issued a Notice Of
Determination Concerning Your Request For Relief Under The
Equitable Relief Provision Of Section 6015(f). In the notice,
respondent determined (1) that petitioner failed to meet her
burden of establishing that she had a reasonable belief that the
taxes would be paid timely and (2) that petitioner failed to
establish that she would suffer an economic hardship if she were
required to pay some or all of the tax.
Petitioner filed an imperfect petition, followed by an
amended petition, contesting respondent’s determination.3 The
amended petition stated:
The debt was due to my ex-husband not paying his social
security taxes. I had been instructed by my accountant
to sign a joint tax return even though I was separated
from my ex-husband in an attempt to “help with divorce
relations” by lowering the amount he owed. And also
told I would not be held responsible. I was then told
by them to file an innocent spouse form which a former
IRS caseworker told me 2 months ago “never works”.
3 Mr. Puckett did not file a Notice of Intervention under
Rule 325(b). He did, however, file a statement with respondent’s
Appeals Office stating that he was assured by both his accountant
and his wife that there would not be any taxes due for 2000
because of the losses related to his wife’s business.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011