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hold the taxpayer liable for the unpaid tax and relief is not
available under section 6015(b) or (c).
A taxpayer generally may petition this Court for review of
the Commissioner’s determination denying relief under section
6015(f). Sec. 6015(e)(1)(A). To prevail, the taxpayer must
prove that the Commissioner’s denial of relief under section
6015(f) was an abuse of discretion. Fernandez v. Commissioner,
114 T.C. 324, 332 (2000); Butler v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 276,
287-292 (2000). Petitioner bears the burden of proving that
respondent’s denial of equitable relief under section 6015(f) was
an abuse of discretion. See Rule 142(a); Alt v. Commissioner,
119 T.C. 306, 311 (2002), affd. 101 Fed. Appx. 34 (6th Cir.
2004). Petitioner must demonstrate that respondent exercised his
discretion arbitrarily, capriciously, or without sound basis in
fact. See Jonson v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 106, 125 (2002),
affd. 353 F.3d 1181 (10th Cir. 2003).
Respondent argues that in determining whether petitioner is
entitled to relief under section 6015(f), the Court should
consider only respondent’s administrative record with respect to
petitioner’s taxable years at issue.5 We generally consider only
5 After trial, the parties submitted a supplemental
stipulation of facts, with attached exhibits, including copies of
police reports. Respondent reserved objections to the additional
exhibits, on the grounds that the information was not presented
to respondent’s Appeals officer and was not part of the
administrative record. We conclude that petitioner raised the
(continued...)
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