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The Difference between Proposed and Determined, Designated Orders August 26 – August 30

Posted on Nov. 5, 2019

Four orders were designated during the week of August 26, including a bench opinion in favor of petitioners in Cross Refined Coal, LLC, et. al v. C.I.R. which is summarized at the end of this post. The only order not discussed found no abuse of discretion in the IRS’s determination not to withdraw a lien (order here).

Docket No. 1312-16, Sheila Ann Smith v. C.I.R. (order here)

First is another attempted development in the ever-expanding universe that is section 6751(b)(1). Petitioner moves to compel discovery related to section 6751 supervisory approval for the section 6702 penalties asserted against her while the Court’s decision is pending.

The Court first explains that some district courts have incorrectly held that the 6702 penalty is automatically calculated through electronic means, and thus, does not require supervisory approval. This is incorrect, because although the penalty is easily calculated since it is a flat $5,000 per frivolous return, it still requires supervisory approval pursuant to IRM section 4.19.13.6.2(3).

Since the penalty requires supervisory approval and the record already contains some proof of approval, the Court goes on to evaluate the timing at issue (and whether additional discovery is warranted) in this case by looking to Kestin v. Commissioner, 153 T.C. No. 2, which it decided at the end of August. Like petitioner’s case, in Kestin, a section 6702 penalty for filing a frivolous tax return was at issue and a Letter 3176C was sent to the taxpayer warning of the imposition of the penalty. The Court held a Letter 3176C is not an “initial determination” of penalty for purposes of section 6751(b)(1), so approval is not required prior to the letter being sent.

This is an unsurprising result. The letter warns the taxpayer that the penalty may be imposed, but also provides the taxpayer with an opportunity to withdraw and correct their frivolous return to avoid the penalty. By providing a taxpayer with an opportunity to act to avoid the penalty, the letter does not need the protection afforded by the section 6751(b) approval requirement. Supervisory approval is required when there is a determination of a penalty, rather than “an indication of a possibility that such a liability will be proposed,” like the Letter 3176C.

The Court denies petitioner’s motion as moot, since the evidence she seeks to compel is already in the record showing that section 6751 approval was timely obtained after the issuance of the Letter 3176C.

Docket No. 26734-14, Daniel R. Doyle and Lynn A. Doyle (order here)

In this designated order, petitioners move the Court to reconsider its decision about whether they can deduct the legal expenses they paid in settlement of a discrimination suit. Unfortunately, petitioners didn’t make this argument during their trial. They had originally argued the expenses were related to petitioner husband’s consulting business, but the fees were not related to his business because they were for a suit against his former employer.

The Court denies petitioners’ motion to reconsider because they are raising a new legal theory that is not supported by the record and they did not allege new evidence, fraud, nor newly voided judgments which would allow the Court to vacate and revise its decision under Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b).

Docket No. 19502-17, Cross Refined Coal, LLC, et. al. v. C.I.R. (order and opinion here)

Petitioners are victorious in Cross Refined Coal – a case involving a partnership in the coal refining industry and the section 45 credits. The section 45 credits are for refined coal that is produced and sold to an unrelated party in 10 years, subject to certain requirements. The bench opinion consists of 24 pages of findings of fact and 22 pages of legal analysis, so I only highlight some aspects here.

The IRS’s main issue is whether the partnership was a bona fide partnership under the Culbertson test and Tax Court’s Luna test. The IRS had an issue with two (of the eight) factors in Luna which help establish whether there was a business purpose intent to form a partnership.

First, the IRS posits that the contributions the parties made to the venture were not substantial, even though the partners made multi-million dollar contributions of their initial purchase price and to fund ongoing operating expenses. The Court disagrees and points out that the contributions are not required to meet any objective standard, the partners’ initial investments were at risk, and they continued to make contributions to fund operating expenses even when the tax credits were not being generated.

Second, the IRS argues that the partners did not meaningfully in share profits and losses, because the arrangement should justify itself in pre-tax terms in order to be respected for tax purposes. Disagreeing with the IRS, the Court finds petitioners shared in profits and losses, even though the arrangement resulted in net losses because the credit amounts increased as the profits increased.

The IRS also argues that partners shared no risk of loss because the partners joined the partnership after the coal refining facility had been established. The Court points out that the IRS’s own Notice 2010-54 allows for lessees of coal refining operations to receive tax credits. The Court also distinguishes this case from a Third Circuit decision, Historic Boardwalk v. CIR, 694 F.3d 425 (3rd Cir. 2012), rev’g 136 T.C. 1 (2011), where the Court held there was no risk of loss when taxpayer became a partner after a rehabilitation project had already begun. Historic Boardwalk, however, dealt with investment credits. The credits at issue in this case are production credits, so what the IRS argues is the “11th hour” (because the coal refining facility had already been established) is actually the first hour because it is the production of coal that generates the credit, rather than the establishment of the facility. 

An overarching theme in the IRS’s position is that the existence of the credits make it less likely that the partners had a true business purpose, and the Court should find abuse when a deal is undertaken only for tax benefits. The Court responds to this argument at multiple points in the opinion explaining that the congressional purpose behind section 45 credits is to incentivize participation in the coal industry, an industry that no one would participate in otherwise. As a result, the credits should not be subject to a substance over form analysis in the way that the IRS seeks.

I encourage those interested in more detailed aspects of the analysis to read the opinion itself, but overall, this seems like the correct result for petitioners.

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