Justices show narrow support for allowing fair tax collection deadline

Justices show narrow support for allowing fair tax collection deadline

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Analysis of arguments

Melissa Sherry debates on behalf of Boechler, PC (Art Lien)

in Wednesday’s debate Boechler v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, most judges appear prepared to allow “fair fees” to be considered in tax due process cases — as long as a decision is narrow and doesn’t spill over to favor fair fees at other tax deadlines.

The case came after law firm Boechler, PC filed a petition a day late asking the U.S. Tax Court to review the IRS’s notice of ruling. Penalty of $19,250 imposed on Boechler’s property by notice of determination issued by the IRS Independent Appeals Office following a Due Process of Collection hearing.Chassis open Section 6330(d)(1) The Internal Revenue Code states that “within 30 days of a decision made under this section, an individual may apply to the Tax Court (which shall have jurisdiction over such matters) to review the decision.”

problems in Bockler It’s whether the statute prohibits taxpayers who miss deadlines from asserting fair fees, which allows courts to forgive missed deadlines in certain circumstances. In accordance with applicable precedent, fair fee claims are prohibited if the 30-day time limit is jurisdictional by statute.The backdrop for Wednesday’s debate also included Bylaws This entails granting specific jurisdiction to the Tax Court, which is not an Article III court.

Advocates are quick to dive into the details of sentence structure. Melissa Arbus Sherry, who defended Boechler, argued that the statute’s “vague parenthetical reference” to jurisdiction cannot “close the door to those courts.” Assistant Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Bond, who has defended the government, argued that when the language granted jurisdiction over “such matters”, it explicitly referred to “petitions that simultaneously satisfy the requirements of Article 1”, Including filing petitions within 30 days. However, the bench did not comment fully accepting the government’s argument that statutory language indisputably makes the statute of limitations jurisdictional. At one point, Justice Neil Gorsuch described three possible explanations, two of which favored the government.

Sherry faced its biggest challenge from Chief Justice John Roberts, who stressed that the statute included a statement that the court “should have jurisdiction.” Does it matter if the sentence is in parentheses, Roberts asks?

Sherry’s statutory interpretation argument was amicably amended by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who suggested that the noun “determine” was an antecedent of “such matters”, rather than the verb “petition”, which the briefing emphasized. (“I’m actually trying to help you,” Sotomayor explained to Shirley. “I’m the one she wanted to hurt,” Roberts interjected.)

Justice Samuel Alito appears to agree with Sherry that it is important to place the jurisdictional language in parentheses. He suggested that might make it a “side-by-side,” as if Congress were saying, “By the way,” the tax court has jurisdiction. Justice Elena Kagan asked directly: How can a statute be made jurisdictional? Conditional languages, such as using “if”, are the best way to go, Sherry replied. But is this the only way?

During the administration’s argument, Judge Amy Coney Barrett highlighted what it means to “clearly state the rules”, asking what would happen if “the government’s interpretation may be more reasonable but not a slam dunk” ? Bond responded that if the court deems that to be the most reasonable reading, the statute should be seen as a clear statement prohibiting fair fees — at least, as long as the word “jurisdiction” is in the statutory part. However, suggesting that a statute containing the word “jurisdiction” clearly has jurisdiction unless it is ambiguous, does not seem persuasive to most judges. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Stephen Breyer even suggested that the Treasury Department and the attorney general’s office might help inform Congress about the content of the court’s clearly stated precedent to encourage better drafting.

Justice Clarence Thomas proposed the subsequent statutory subsection, 26 USC § 6330(e)(1), said the Tax Court had the power to bar proceedings only if the appeal was “timely”. Thomas asked why Congress would allow the Tax Court to “consider an untimely action, but not allow it to prohibit taxation?” Bond argues that “timely” means the petition has been filed within 30 days, while Shirley argues that “In time” includes the possibility of charging. Breyer sided with Shirley with the help of the legal dictionary definition. If the court “extends the statutory period,” Breyer said, “therefore, it is timely.”

The argument also tests the idea that a decision in favor of Boechler may be narrow. When Thomas asked about numbers, Bond replied that the new precedent would be associated with about 26,000 “justifiable collection” cases a year. Of the 26,000 cases, 1,200 had taxpayer applications to the Tax Court and 300 were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. When Kavanaugh asked whether fair fees should be “very severely limited,” Shirley responded that the court’s recent precedent on fair fees would apply here in “exactly the same way.”

Kavanaugh also asked about the impact of Boechler’s decision on other tax-restrictive regulations, particularly Section 6213(a), Bond said, it provides a gateway to 95 percent of the Tax Court’s docket and gives taxpayers 90 days to request the Tax Court to review a defect notice. Bond said Boechler’s decision would not disrupt precedent that the Section 6213(a) deadline cannot be fairly calculated.

Sherry also made the argument that the collection of due process procedures is “fair at every turn.” She argues that the CDP focuses on a particular taxpayer’s stock situation because it focuses on “receipt alternatives,” which, for example, might allow taxpayers to develop a repayment plan rather than allowing the IRS to seize and sell property to repay taxes. . Bond’s rebuttal — that Congress only made exceptions to charges that the IRS could more easily manage, such as bankruptcy and military service in war zones — appeared to fall through.

This Bockler Arguments suggest that most judges prefer to allow fair fees to be considered in the specific context of tax CDP proceedings. Most people will probably find the principle of upholding and encouraging Congress to develop clearer statutory language decisive. Some judges may also consider the fairness of due process of collection to be an important aspect in the company’s favor. When the court brings these two considerations together, a narrow decision in favor of Boechler may result.



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