- 12 -
(9th Cir. 2006). Nor do we usually consider arguments, issues,
or other matters raised for the first time at trial, but we limit
ourselves to matter brought to the attention of Appeals.
See Murphy v. Commissioner, supra at 308; Magana v. Commissioner,
118 T.C. 488, 493 (2002). “[E]vidence that * * * [a taxpayer]
might have presented at the section 6330 hearing (but chose not
to) is not admissible in a trial conducted pursuant to section
6330(d)(1) because it is not relevant to the question of whether
the Appeals officer abused her discretion.” Murphy v.
Commissioner, supra at 315.12
Section 6330(c)(2)(A)(iii) allows a taxpayer to offer to
compromise a Federal tax debt as a collection alternative to a
proposed levy. Section 7122(c) authorizes the Commissioner to
12 In Murphy v. Commissioner, 125 T.C. 301 (2005), affd.
469 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2006), the Court declined to include in the
record external evidence relating to facts not presented to
Appeals. The Court distinguished Robinette v. Commissioner,
123 T.C. 85 (2004), revd. 439 F.3d 455 (8th Cir. 2006), and held
that the external evidence was inadmissible in that it was not
relevant to the issue of whether Appeals abused its discretion.
In a memorandum that petitioners filed with the Court on Apr. 13,
2006, pursuant to an order of the Court directing petitioners to
explain the relevancy of any external evidence that they desired
to include in the record of this case, petitioners made no claim
that they had offered any of the external evidence to Cochran.
Instead, as we read petitioners’ memorandum in the light of the
record as a whole, petitioners wanted to include the external
evidence in the record of this case to prove that Cochran abused
her discretion by not considering facts and documents that they
had consciously decided not to give to her. Consistent with
Murphy v. Commissioner, supra, we sustained respondent’s
relevancy objections to the external evidence. Accord Clayton v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2006-188; Barnes v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2006-150.
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