Kenneth A. Sapp - Page 19

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          Ex Parte Contacts                                                           
               In the absentee letter, and in a statement submitted at                
          trial, petitioner contends that there were impermissible ex parte           
          contacts between respondent's Office of Appeals and Office of               
          Chief Counsel in connection with his hearing.  The Appeals Office           
          records document that the Appeals employees handling petitioner's           
          hearing request communicated on numerous occasions with the Chief           
          Counsel attorney assigned to petitioner's case.  The first                  
          recorded contact occurred on July 24, 2002, and communications              
          between the two Offices continued throughout 2003 and 2004.                 
               Section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Service                        
          Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 1998), Pub. L. 105-206,           
          112 Stat. 689, provides:                                                    
               The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall develop and                 
               implement a plan to reorganize the Internal Revenue                    
               Service.  The plan shall * * *                                         
                                    * * * * * * *                                     
               (4) ensure an independent appeals function within the                  
               Internal Revenue Service, including the prohibition in                 
               the plan of ex parte communications between appeals                    
               officers and other Internal Revenue Service employees                  
               to the extent that such communications appear to                       
               compromise the independence of the appeals officers.                   

               In Rev. Proc. 2000-43, 2000-2 C.B. 404, respondent issued              
          guidance concerning ex parte communications by Appeals to comply            
          with the foregoing statutory directive.  See generally Drake v.             
          Commissioner, 125 T.C. 201, 208-209 (2005).  Rev. Proc. 2000-43,            
          supra, reaffirms that the Office of Chief Counsel is the legal              






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