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petition date on the notice of deficiency but the taxpayer
nonetheless receives the notice and files a timely petition, the
notice is valid. Smith v. Commissioner, supra at 492.
Petitioner received the notice of deficiency and filed a
timely petition with this Court. Although the notice of
deficiency stated incorrectly the last date on which petitioner
could petition this Court, it clearly and conspicuously stated
that a petition must be filed with this Court within 90 days of
the date the notice of deficiency was mailed. Furthermore,
respondent mailed a letter to petitioner on October 31, 2002,
acknowledging the error in the notice of deficiency and informing
petitioner that he had until January 2, 2003, to file a petition
with this Court. Accordingly, the statutory goal of providing
the taxpayer with actual notice of the deficiency determination
in a timely manner was satisfied. The Court concludes that the
notice of deficiency is valid and this Court has jurisdiction.
II. Availability of a Bivens Remedy
“Bivens provides that federal courts have the inherent
authority to award damages against federal officials to
compensate plaintiffs for violations of their constitutional
rights. * * * However, Bivens remedies are not available to
compensate plaintiffs for all constitutional torts committed by
federal officials.” W. Ctr. for Journalism v. Cederquist, 235
F.3d 1153, 1156 (9th Cir. 2000). There are three recognized
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Last modified: March 27, 2008