A recent Tax Court decision was reported dealing with a U. S. Tax Court Litigation Petition. J. Frank Best, Tax Controversy CPA/U. S. Tax Court Litigator with locations in Raleigh and Wilmington, NC & North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach, SC works to stay current on all IRS decisions concerning tax litigation to ensure we are fully informed and prepared for clients.
Ambiguous IRS Notice Sinks Taxpayer’s Tax Court Petition
The U. S. Tax Court held that it did not have jurisdiction over a U. S. Tax Court Litigation Petition to determine a notice of deficiency that identified two related but separate companies as potentially liable for the deficiencies. Applying Dees v. Comm’r, 148 T.C. No. 1 (2017), the Tax Court found that (1) the notice was ambiguous because it identified two related but separate entities as the taxpayer, and thus it was impossible to ascertain from the notice which entity would owe the determined deficiencies; and (2) the taxpayer could not prove that the notice reflected determinations with respect to it because the taxpayer’s returns showed that any determination reflected in the notice could not relate to the taxpayer. U.S. Auto Sales, Inc. v. Comm’r, 153 T.C. No. 5 (2019).