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Mr. Kovitch’s tax liability is a liability to the United
States, and whether or not spousal relief is granted to
petitioner, Mr. Kovitch remains liable. The only issue to be
decided is the extent to which petitioner will remain liable for
the 2002 tax liability. As the Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit has observed, the Tax Court’s determination regarding
relief under section 6015 does not affect the intervening former
spouse’s personal tax liability. Baranowicz v. Commissioner, 432
F.3d 972, 974 (9th Cir. 2005).8
Regardless of whether we grant or deny relief to petitioner
under section 6015, our decision in this case can neither
increase nor decrease Mr. Kovitch’s tax liability and thus will
not affect whether Mr. Kovitch is liable for the entire amount.
Therefore, petitioner’s request for section 6015 relief does not
concern the tax liability of Mr. Kovitch.9 Accordingly, we hold
8 The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that an
intervening former spouse lacked standing to appeal the Tax
Court’s determination regarding sec. 6015 relief. Baranowicz v.
Commissioner, 432 F.3d 972 (9th Cir. 2005). In Baranowicz, the
intervenor argued that, although the deficiencies determined by
the Tax Court or the Court of Appeals would not change his
obligation to pay, the determination granting spousal relief to
the requesting spouse constituted actual injury. The Court of
Appeals disagreed, holding that “Absent a showing of some
concrete harm, we must reject * * * [the intervenor’s] argument
that the mere grant of participation rights in the Tax Court
under § 6015(e)(4) is sufficient to confer on him standing to
appeal.” Id. at 976.
9 We recognize that a decision granting petitioner’s request
for relief could conceivably have a financial impact on Mr.
(continued...)
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Last modified: November 10, 2007