Woodrow Reynolds - Page 5

                                        - 5 -                                         
          signed by the director of the service center and not the                    
          Secretary are invalid; (2) he did not receive a proper collection           
          hearing because Mr. Phillips was a settlement officer, not an               
          Appeals officer; and (3) he was improperly precluded from raising           
          relevant issues that challenged the validity of the underlying              
          tax liabilities.                                                            
                                       OPINION                                        
          I.   Collection Action                                                      
               A. General Rules                                                       
               Pursuant to section 6331(a), if a taxpayer liable to pay               
          taxes fails to do so within 10 days after notice and demand for             
          payment, the Secretary is authorized to collect such tax by levy            
          upon the taxpayer’s property.  The Secretary is obliged to                  
          provide the taxpayer with 30 days’ advance notice of levy                   
          collection and of the administrative appeals available to the               
          taxpayer.  Sec. 6331(d).  Upon a timely request a taxpayer is               
          entitled to a collection hearing before the IRS Office of                   
          Appeals.  Sec. 6330(b)(1).                                                  
               At the collection hearing, the taxpayer may raise “any                 
          relevant issue relating to the unpaid tax or the proposed levy,”            
          including appropriate spousal defenses, challenges to the                   
          appropriateness of collection actions, and offers of collection             
          alternatives.  Sec. 6330(c)(2)(A).  The taxpayer may not contest            
          the validity of the underlying tax liability unless the taxpayer            






Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  Next

Last modified: May 25, 2011