Robert M. Scharringhausen - Page 6




                                        - 6 -                                         
          A.   Was the Lien Properly Filed?                                           
               The federal tax lien is imposed automatically once the                 
          assessment is made.  Sec. 6321.  No one disputes that the                   
          Commissioner properly assessed Scharringhausen’s 2001-03 taxes              
          before the NFTL’s filing in May 2005, that he mailed notice-and-            
          demand letters to Scharringhausen within 60 days of each                    
          assessment’s date, and that the taxes remain unpaid.  Thus the              
          settlement officer correctly found that the NFTL was not filed              
          prematurely, or in violation of IRS procedures.  Scharringhausen            
          (as best we can tell) argues that the NFTL was nevertheless                 
          procedurally improper because section 6323(j)(1) gives discretion           
          to the Commissioner to withdraw a lien if, for example, it would            
          facilitate tax collection.  Sec. 6323(j)(1)(C).  This is a true             
          statement, but we’re hard pressed to see how withdrawing the NFTL           
          could possibly help collect the tax, given that Scharringhausen             
          had over $1 million in other outstanding judgments against him.             
               Nor did Scharringhausen satisfy the other provision of                 
          section 6323 that he cited in the record--section 6323(j)(1)(D)--           
          which allows the NFTL to be withdrawn if doing so would be in the           
          best interests of the taxpayer and the United States.  Though we            
          don’t doubt that the withdrawal of the lien would benefit                   
          Scharringhausen, we’re equally hard pressed to see how it would             
          benefit the United States, since the 21 judgment liens already in           
          place against Scharringhausen make it much more likely that                 







Page:  Previous  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  Next 

Last modified: March 27, 2008