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in the widely publicized Speltz v. Commissioner case
(of which Mr. Carlson and CTF were integrally in-
volved); where the court determined that the IRS did
not abuse its discretion in not accepting the Speltz’s
Offer in Compromise, further stating that it is not the
IRS’ purview to override tax laws when they appear
inequitable. The ability to modify, alter or eliminate
tax laws rests solely with Congress.
By your own admission, you have sufficient resources to
pay these outstanding liabilities, but feel that you
should not be required to do so. The IRS will not
accept any Offer from you under these circumstances.
The Offer program was established to provide relief to
those taxpayers who could not fully pay their tax
obligations. It was also designed to provide relief to
those taxpayers who could fully pay their taxes, but
doing so would cause significant economic hardship.
Neither of these situations has been demonstrated in
your case.
Ms. Colbert has previously advised you that the Notice
of Federal Tax Lien filing will be sustained, and I
agree with that decision. The tax was legally due and
owing at the time the Lien was filed. As all legal and
procedural requirements were met, I believe that this
action was proper.
Although Ms. Colbert indicated that she would consider
possible abatements of penalties on your account, I do
not agree with this. You have been assessed the Fail-
ure to Pay penalty on both 2000 and 2001. Because you
have the ability to pay, but are refusing to do so at
this time, I do not believe that you meet the criteria
for relief of this penalty under Reasonable Cause.
For 2001, you have also been assessed the Estimated Tax
Penalty. You did not make any estimated tax payments
as required by law due to your insufficient federal
income tax withholding for the year. You have provided
no documentation to illustrate why you were unable to
make the estimated payments, therefore I again do not
believe that you meet the criteria for relief of this
penalty under the Reasonable Cause provisions.
At this point, I believe that we are at an impasse with
your account. Appeals believes that you have the
ability to fully pay your tax liabilities, but you have
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Last modified: May 25, 2011