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The legislative history establishes that in section 6330
cases Congress intended there to be a trial de novo in the Tax
Court, that we can receive evidence beyond the administrative
record, and we may consider issues not raised at the section 6330
hearing. Davis was premised on the idea that we would be able to
hear issues and receive evidence beyond those raised or provided
at the section 6330 hearing. If our review is limited to those
issues raised at the section 6330 hearing (and possibly to the
administrative record), Davis is outdated.
In order to fulfill our section 6330 review function, as
mandated by Congress after lengthy and careful deliberation, the
Court needs more information than is provided by current section
6330 hearings. This statement is tempered by almost a decade of
experience handling section 6330 cases where the IRS consistently
has attempted to limit the evidence the Court can review.
Frequently the Court is provided virtually no record at all or
the scant documents accumulated by Appeals, making meaningful
review impossible.
By abandoning our precedent and interpreting the statute in
12(...continued)
believe it is incorrect to conclude that when the standard of
review is abuse of discretion that a fortiori the scope of our
review is limited to the administrative record.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007