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$10,000 or less should be interpreted to mean that the
interest on very large overpayments should accrue
interest at the rate Congress reserved for small
overpayments. We think it highly unlikely that
Congress intended the exception to the GATT rate for
small overpayments to have such dramatic potential
consequences for overpayments vastly larger than the
modest overpayments of $10,000 or less that are
eligible for the regular rate. [Emphasis supplied.]
Id. at 1310-1311.
After noting that section 6611 “authorizes the allowance of
interest on any ‘overpayment’” and that section 6611 “dictates
that interest shall be paid ‘at the overpayment rate established
under section 6621’”, id. at 1308, the Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit stated that because sections 6611 and 6621 are
“integrally related * * * the term ‘overpayment’ must mean the
same thing in the two sections.” Gen. Elec. Co. v. United
States, supra at 1311. This led the court to conclude that
“section 6611 requires us to reject GE’s theory of the case”.
Id. at 1311-1312.
As we shall discuss, petitioner believes this analysis by
the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is flawed because
“overpayment” does not include interest compounded under section
6622.
Petitioner challenges the holding of the Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit by arguing that the phrase “overpayment
of tax” in section 6621(a) limits the scope of the change in
corporate interest rates to the overpayment itself, thus allowing
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