T.C. Memo. 2004-159
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
CHARLES EDWIN LYKES, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 13402-02L. Filed July 12, 2004.
Charles Edwin Lykes, pro se.
Michael A. Pesavento, for respondent.
MEMORANDUM FINDINGS OF FACT AND OPINION
JACOBS, Judge: Pursuant to section 6330(d),1 petitioner
seeks our review of a determination by respondent’s Appeals
officer that filing of a notice of Federal tax lien with respect
to the collection of petitioner’s unpaid income tax liability
(including additions to tax and interest) for 1996-99 was
1
All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.
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appropriate. In his petition, petitioner requests us to
determine whether respondent improperly refused to abate
assessments for additions to tax under section 6651(a)(1) and (2)
and section 6654, and interest on those additions to tax,2
arising from delinquent income tax returns filed by petitioner
for 1996-99.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found.
The stipulation of facts and the exhibits submitted therewith are
incorporated herein by this reference.
At the time the petition in this case was filed, petitioner
resided in Clearwater, Florida.
Petitioner graduated from Stetson University in Deland,
Florida, where he received a bachelor of science degree in
physics. After graduating from college, petitioner served in the
military, and, after a 3-year tour of duty with the Signal Corps,
he attended and graduated from law school. Petitioner returned
to the military and practiced criminal law in the U.S. Army at
Fort Ord, California. He later worked as an attorney for the
Department of Energy, where he practiced patent law.
In 1985, petitioner moved to Clearwater, Florida, where he
has been practicing law as a sole practitioner. The bulk of his
2
Petitioner has conceded that he is liable for interest on
additions to tax under secs. 6651(a)(1) and (2) and 6654 if such
additions are not abated.
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private law practice has consisted of criminal work. Petitioner
failed to pay employment taxes pertaining to his law practice,
and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) assessed those taxes.
Petitioner filed delinquent income tax returns for 1996-99
after he was contacted by a representative of the IRS.
Petitioner and his former wife filed joint returns for 1996-98.
Petitioner filed his return for 1999 as single. He failed to
remit all the taxes shown as due on the returns. The IRS
assessed additions to tax for late filing under section
6651(a)(1), late payment under section 6651(a)(2), and failure to
pay estimated tax under section 6654. The returns were filed and
assessments for taxes, interest, and additions to tax were made
on the following dates:
Year Date Return Filed Assessment Date
1996 5/7/01 9/17/01
1997 5/7/01 9/24/01
1998 5/7/01 9/10/01
1999 4/16/01 11/19/01
Petitioner and the IRS entered into an installment agreement
in connection with the collection of petitioner’s tax liability.
This agreement covered both petitioner’s income and employment
tax liabilities, as well as additions to tax and interest.
Petitioner defaulted on his agreement after making two monthly
payments.
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On December 7, 2001, the IRS filed a notice of Federal tax
lien for income taxes (including additions to tax and interest)
owed by petitioner for 1996-99. On December 11, 2001, the IRS
sent petitioner a Form 3172, Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing
and Your Right to a Hearing Under IRC 6320, and a Form 12153,
Request for a Collection Due Process Hearing. On January 7,
2002, petitioner submitted a completed Form 12153 to the IRS.
Petitioner’s case was assigned to Appeals Officer James H.
Reagan. On April 2, 2002, Appeals Officer Reagan sent petitioner
a letter in which a face-to-face hearing, as authorized by
section 6320, was scheduled. Per that letter, the topics to be
discussed at the hearing included the additions to tax at issue,
as well as the reinstatement of the installment agreement. The
hearing was held as scheduled.
On June 20, 2002, Appeals Officer Reagan sent petitioner a
letter in which Appeals Officer Reagan recommended that
petitioner consider making a partial payment and pay the balance
due the IRS in installments. The letter stated that if
petitioner wanted to enter into an installment agreement, then,
by July 8, 2002, petitioner would have to complete a Form 433-A,
Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-
Employed Individuals, (which was enclosed with Appeals Officer
Reagan’s letter) and provide Appeals Officer Reagan with copies
of petitioner’s personal and business bank statements and check
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registers for March-May 2002. Petitioner did not complete the
Form 433-A or submit copies of his bank statements to the IRS by
July 8, 2002. On July 18, 2002, the IRS sent petitioner a Notice
of Determination Concerning Collection Action(s) Under Section
6320 and/or 6330. That notice stated that the filing of the
notice of tax lien was “appropriate and reasonable under the
circumstances” and thus would not be withdrawn. The notice
further stated that the IRS would not abate the interest or
additions to tax. The reason given for denying petitioner’s
request for the abatement of interest was:
The interest cannot be abated since the interest is
assessed on underpayments in tax, and the abatement
provisions or I.R.C. Section 6404(e) only pertains to
the assessment of interest on a deficiency attributable
in whole or in part to any unreasonable error [or]
delay by an officer or employee of the Internal Revenue
Service (acting in his official capacity) in performing
a ministerial or managerial act.
The reason given for denying petitioner’s request for the
abatement of additions to tax was:
The delinquency penalty and failure to pay penalty will
not be abated since you have failed to show that your
failure to timely file and pay the tax due was due to
reasonable cause and not willful neglect. The
estimated tax penalty will not be abated since you have
failed to show that you qualify for a statutory waiver
provided by I.R.C. 6654(e).
On August 20, 2002, petitioner filed a petition with this
Court under section 6330(d) disputing respondent’s
determinations. See sec. 6320(c).
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OPINION
Section 6321 imposes a lien in favor of the United States
upon all property and rights to property belonging to a person
liable for unpaid taxes after demand for payment has been made.
Within 5 business days after the day of filing the notice of
lien, the Secretary must notify the taxpayer, in writing, that a
tax lien was filed and inform the taxpayer of his/her right to a
hearing before an impartial Appeals officer. Sec. 6320.
Pursuant to section 6320(c), the hearing is to be conducted
consistent with procedures set forth in subsections (c), (d)
(other than paragraph (2)(B) thereof), and (e) of section 6330.
If the Commissioner issues a determination letter adverse to the
position of the taxpayer, the taxpayer may seek judicial review
of that determination. Sec. 6330(d).
Preliminarily we deal with a jurisdictional issue.
Petitioner maintains that we should consider his income and
employment tax liabilities together because the assigned IRS
revenue officer pursued the collection of petitioner’s income tax
liabilities in conjunction with his employment tax liabilities.
Respondent, on the other hand, objects to petitioner’s raising of
respondent’s collection activities of petitioner’s employment tax
liability. Respondent maintains that the lien in question
pertains only to petitioner’s unpaid income taxes for 1996-99,
not petitioner’s unpaid employment taxes. In this regard,
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respondent asserts that the filing of the lien is the event that
triggered petitioner’s right to a section 6330 hearing and
subsequently to our review of respondent’s determination to
continue collection activities, as well as the denial of
petitioner’s request for the abatement of interest and additions
to tax. We agree with this assertion.
We now turn to whether respondent’s denial of petitioner’s
request for the abatement of additions to tax was an abuse of
discretion. Both parties acknowledge that this Court has
jurisdiction in this section 6330(d) proceeding to consider
whether respondents’s refusal to abate the additions to tax
relating to petitioner’s income tax liabilities was an abuse of
discretion. See Montgomery v. Commissioner, 122 T.C. 1 (2004);
Downing v. Commissioner, 118 T.C. 22 (2002).
The income tax assessments for the years in question include
assessments for additions to tax under section 6651(a)(1) and (2)
for 1996-99 and under section 6654 for 1996-97. Petitioner did
not have an opportunity to dispute these additions; hence, he can
challenge them during the section 6330 hearing proceeding. Sec.
6330(c)(2)(B). We review de novo respondent’s determination with
respect to these additions to tax. See Goza v. Commissioner, 114
T.C. 176, 181-182 (2000).
Section 6651(a)(1) imposes an addition to tax for failure to
timely file a return, and section 6651(a)(2) imposes an addition
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to tax for failure to timely pay the amount shown as tax on the
return. These additions to tax are applicable unless the
taxpayer establishes that his/her failure to timely file or
timely pay is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
neglect.
A delay in filing a return is due to a reasonable cause “If
the taxpayer exercised ordinary business care and prudence and
was nevertheless unable to file the return within the prescribed
time”. Sec. 301.6651-1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs. Petitioner
may demonstrate reasonable cause for his failure to pay taxes by
showing he exercised ordinary business care and prudence in
providing for payment of his tax liability and was nevertheless
either unable to pay the tax or would suffer an undue hardship
(as described in section 1.6161-1(b), Income Tax Regs.) if he
paid on the due date. Sec. 301.6651-1(c), Proced. & Admin. Regs.
Section 1.6161-1(b), Income Tax Regs., defines "undue hardship"
as:
more than an inconvenience to the taxpayer. It must
appear that substantial financial loss, for example,
loss due to the sale of property at a sacrifice price,
will result to the taxpayer from making payment on the
due date of the amount with respect to which the
extension is desired. If a market exists, the sale of
property at the current market price is not ordinarily
considered as resulting in an undue hardship.
In order to avoid the section 6651(a)(1) addition to tax,
petitioner must show both reasonable cause and a lack of willful
neglect. Sec. 6651(a)(1); United States v. Boyle, 469 U.S. 241
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(1985). Petitioner’s failure to file is due to reasonable cause
if he exercised ordinary business care and prudence and was,
nevertheless, unable to file his return within the time
prescribed by law. Sec. 301.6651-1(c)(1), Proced. & Admin. Regs.
The reasons offered by petitioner for his failure to timely
file his returns and pay his income taxes are (1) his marital
troubles, which concluded in divorce, and (2) his financial
setbacks caused by his ex-wife’s spending habits and his
deployment to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield/Storm,
as a reservist, from November, 28, 1990, until June 29, 1991.
In defense of respondent’s refusal to abate the late-filing
and late-payment additions to tax, respondent states in his
posttrial brief filed with the Court the following:
With respect to his marital troubles, petitioner
failed to establish how the illness of his wife, and
his eventual divorce from her, prevented him from
timely filing and paying his taxes over a four year
period, i.e., from April 1997 through May of 2001.
Petitioner did not allege, for example, that during
this four year stretch he was unable to function due to
an emotional or physical disability connected to his
troubled marriage. The evidence is to the contrary.
During this time, petitioner was fully able to carry
out the duties of an attorney representing clients in
criminal matters, as well as manage his sole practice
on a day to day basis. Moreover, petitioner was not
hospitalized or otherwise incapacitated during this
period.
In this regard it is important to note that it is
only after the revenue officer assigned to the case
contacted petitioner, requested his delinquent income
tax returns, and commenced collection activities, that
petitioner came forward and filed his returns during
2001. This evidence tends to negate that petitioner’s
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delinquency was due to disability or other reasonable
cause.
* * * * * * *
Petitioner’s argument that his service during
Desert Storm during 1990 and 1991 somehow affected his
ability to comply with internal revenue laws almost six
years later is implausible, and not supported by any
evidence in the record. Petitioner abandoned that
argument upon questioning by the court.
Respondent’s position in this regard is well taken. The
Court further notes that petitioner did not provide Appeals
Officer Reagan or this Court with any financial records that
might have supported petitioner’s claim of undue hardship. We
may infer that petitioner had no records that would have
supported his claim.
We have carefully considered the reasons offered by
petitioner for his failure to timely file his 1996-99 tax returns
and timely pay the amounts shown on the returns for such years
when filed belatedly. Neither reason offered by petitioner
constitutes “reasonable cause”.
As to the section 6654 addition to tax for failure to pay
estimated taxes for 1996 and 1997, none of the statutory
exceptions apply. See sec. 6654(e). Consequently, the
imposition of this addition to tax is mandatory.
In sum, we conclude that respondent’s denial of petitioner’s
request for abatement of the additions to tax under section
6651(a)(1) and (2) and section 6654 was not an abuse of
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discretion. We further conclude that respondent (through Appeals
Officer Reagan) did not abuse his discretion in determining that
the notice of Federal tax lien was appropriate and reasonable
under the circumstances involved herein and thus should not be
withdrawn.
Accordingly,
Decision will be entered
for respondent.