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Designated Orders the Week of 4/9 – 4/13

Posted on May 4, 2018

We are catching up on some past designated orders. This week Samantha Galvin from University of Denver brings us up to date on the designated orders from last month; the first matter, Joseph v Commissioner, highlights how in most deficiency cases the Tax Court takes little interest in the substance or workings of matters at Appeals; the second sweeps in issues relating to returns with frivolous positions. Les

The week of April 9th was, unfortunately, not the most exciting week for designated orders. The Tax Court designated six orders, and three are discussed below with two of the three pertaining to the same case. The orders not discussed are: 1) an order granting respondent’s motion to withdraw admissions (here), 2) an order in a consolidated case reopening the record and allowing petitioner to serve respondent with interrogatories in a substantiation case with a Graev IIIaspect (here), and 3) an order and decision granting respondent’s motion for summary judgment and sustaining a notice of determination when petitioners did not provide an installment agreement amount (here).

Appeals Officer’s Testimony Excluded

Docket No. 27759-15, George E. Joseph v. C.I.R. (Order here and here)Judge Halpern designated two different orders in this case during the same week, which is somewhat unusual. Both orders involve the same issue which is whether the testimony of IRS Appeals Officer Nancy Driver is admissible.

The first order addresses respondent’s oral motion to exclude Ms. Driver’s testimony. Respondent’s motion was made during a conference call with the parties in advance of their trial. Petitioner requested the conference call to discuss whether Ms. Driver will be available to testify. Ms. Driver is the Appeals Officer who first considered petitioner’s case after he petitioned the Court.

Petitioner argues that Ms. Driver’s testimony is relevant because she identified problems with the IRS’s initial examination of his return. Respondent argues Ms. Driver testimony is not relevant and the Court should exclude her as a witness under Federal Rules of Evidence (“Fed. R. Evid.”) 104, which states the Court “must decide any preliminary question about whether a witness is qualified, a privilege exists, or evidence is admissible.”Respondent argues Ms. Driver’s testimony is excludible under Fed. R. Evid. 408 because it is evidence of a compromise of the deficiency determined by respondent.

The Court also brings the parties attention to Greenberg’s Express Inc. v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 324 (1974) which states that “[a]s a general rule, this Court will not look behind a deficiency notice to examine the evidence used or the propriety of respondent’s motives or of the administrative policy or procedure involving in making his determinations.” The rationale behind this is that “a trial before the Tax Court is a proceeding de novo; [the] determination as to a petitioner’s tax liability must be based on the merits of the case and not any previous record developed at the administrative level.” Greenberg’s Expressat 328.

The Court does not understand what Ms. Driver’s testimony could include, other than matters precluded by Fed. R. Evid. 408.

Petitioner argues that respondent’s deficiency determination is wrong and that the amounts on the return were correct. Petitioner also alleges that the auditor assigned to his case pulled numbers “out of the air.” Despite these allegations, the Court states that petitioner fails to clearly and concisely state the facts on which petitioner bases errors as Tax Court Rule 34 requires.

The Court asks petitioner to be clear and concise, put forward any objections to Rule 408, and to respond to concerns about the relevance of Ms. Driver’s testimony and the application of Greenberg’s Express.

The second order in this case grants respondent’s motion to exclude the testimony of Ms. Driver.

It appears to the Court that Ms. Driver thought some of the adjustments were less than what respondent had determined. Rather than agree to a settlement with Ms. Driver, the petitioner continued through the process until his case was calendared for trial.

Petitioner states that, “Ms. Driver’s efforts demonstrated a true understanding of the issues presented in the taxpayer’s case” and the Court should consider Ms. Driver’s efforts as a starting point. Again, however, the Court finds petitioner fails to specify which facts he relies upon to show error and still does not identify what knowledge of the facts Ms. Driver possesses.

Ms. Driver’s role was to consider petitioner’s case and reach a resolution that would eliminate, or reduce, the issues for trial. Petitioner did not accept Ms. Driver’s findings when he had the opportunity to do so and the Court will not inquire into why that is. The Court concludes that Ms. Driver’s testimony is not admissible and grants respondent’s motion to exclude it.

Frivolity from the Start

Docket No. 11492-17L, Walter C. Lange v. C.I.R. (Order here). In this case, petitioner petitions the Court on a Notice of Determination proposing a levy of section 6702(a) penalties. Section 6702(a) applies when a return is filed with incorrect information and the IRS identifies it as a frivolous position, or the filing of an incorrect return “reflects a desire to delay or impede the administration of Federal tax laws.”

Respondent argues petitioner filed frivolous tax returns for 2007, 2009 and 2012. Petitioner moves for summary judgment which the Court denies, because it finds that petitioner’s arguments do not establish that there is no genuine dispute to any material facts and that a decision may be rendered as a matter of law.

Petitioner argues that respondent determined multiple penalties for the same tax year, but respondent concedes this issue. Respondent submits Forms 4340 showing the assessment of the penalties at issue to satisfy petitioner’s right under section 6203 to a copy of the record of assessment.

The Court finds petitioner’s remaining arguments, which it does not go into detail about, are meritless. The Court warns petitioner against advancing frivolous or groundless arguments at or after trial and against maintaining the proceeding primarily for purposes of delay. If petitioner does not heed the Court’s warning, it may impose a penalty of up to $25,000 under section 6673(a)(1).

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