- 4 - bankruptcy filing gave rise to the automatic stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. section 362(a)(8) that prohibits the commencement or continuation of Tax Court proceedings “concerning the debtor.” The automatic stay has not been terminated. Before we can proceed to adjudicate whether petitioner is entitled to relief under section 6015, we must decide whether the automatic stay prevents us from doing so. Discussion I. Nature of Joint Liability and Section 6015 Relief Spouses who file joint returns are jointly and severally liable for the entire tax liability, which may be collected from either spouse. See sec. 6013(d)(3). However, section 6015 provides that, notwithstanding section 6013(d)(3), a joint filer may elect to seek relief from joint and several tax liability. Congress vested this Court with jurisdiction to review a taxpayer’s claim for relief from joint and several liability under specified circumstances. Maier v. Commissioner, 119 T.C. 3(...continued) has not objected to the notice of intervention, and any delay in filing the notice of intervention does not appear to have caused harm to any of the parties. In any event, we would use our discretion, as provided in Rule 325(b), to allow the notice of intervention to be filed. 4 Mr. Kovitch’s bankruptcy case was initially a ch. 7 proceeding; however, on May 1, 2006, the case was converted to a ch. 13 proceeding.Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NextLast modified: November 10, 2007