TAX COURT OPINION

Case: Gerardo Torres
Docket Number: 10089-10SL
Judge: Goeke
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 04/05/2012
Pages: 6

UNITED STATES TAX COURT WASHINGTON, DC 20217 GERARDO TORRES, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent ) ) ) ) ) Docket No. 10089-10SL. ) ) ) ) DECISION Pursuant to the opinion of the Court as set forth in the pages of the transcript of the proceedings before Judge Joseph R. Goeke at Tampa, Florida, on March 21, 2012, containing oral findings of fact and opinion, it is ORDERED and DECIDED that respondent may proceed with the collection action as determined in the Notice ofDetermination Concerning Collection Action for the taxable years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001, upon which this case is based. (Signed) Joseph Robert Goeke Judge ENTERED: APR - 9 2012 SERVED APR - 9 2012 UNITED STATES TAX COURT WASHINGTON, DC 20217 GERARDO TORRES, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ORDER Docket No. 10089-10SL. Pursuant to Rule 152(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk ofthe Court shall transmit herewith to petitioner and to respondent a copy ofthe pages ofthe transcript ofthe trial in the above case before Judge Joseph Robert Goeke at Tampa, Florida, on March 21, 2012, containing his oral findings of fact and opinion rendered at the conclusion of the trial. In accordance with the oral findings of fact and opinion, a decision will be entered for respondent. Joseph Robert Goeke Judge Dated: Washington, D.C. April 5, 2012 SERVED APR - 9 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 BENCH OPINION BY JUDGE JOSEPH ROBERT GOEKE GERARDO TORRES v. COMMISSIONER DOCKET NO.: 10089-10SL DATE: March 21, 2012 . THE COURT: The Court has decided to render Oral Findings of Fact and Opinion in this case and the following represents the Court's Oral Findings of Fact and Opinion. The Oral Findings of Fact and Opinion shall not be relied upon as precedent in any other case. This case is before the Court pursuant to the provisions of section 7463 of the Internal Revenue Code in effect at the time the petition was filed. Pursuant to section 7463 the decision to be entered is not reviewable by any other court. Section references hereinafter are to the Internal Revenue Code and rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. This case is before the Court based upon our authority to review determinations made by Respondent under section 6330 of the Internal Revenue Code regarding collection action. In the present case the Petitioner timely filed his income tax returns for the taxable year 2002. Through withholding and a payment with return Petitioner paid the tax assessed. However, at that time the Petitioner had failed to Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 file income tax returns for the years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. On May 4th, 2004 the Petitioner submitted an amended return for 2002 and an additional $505 was assessed regarding Petitioner's 2002 liability. Petitioner did not pay this $505. In May of 2004 the Petitioner delinquently filed income tax returns for 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. All of these delinquent returns showed a balance due because the withholding was insufficient to pay the tax liability. Petitioner didn't pay any of these liabilities. On November 2nd, 2009 the Respondent sent the Petitioner a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Your Right to a Hearing. On November 6th, 2009 the Petitioner timely submitted a request for collection due process or equivalent hearing. A hearing was held on February 24th, 2010 and the appeal office sustained the determination to proceed with a levy against the Petitioner. There was a hearing on a motion for summary judgment while this case was pending before this Court in November of 2010. There was a question at that hearing about whether the Petitioner had been given an opportunity to substantiate student loan payments, which Petitioner felt obligated to pay obviously on Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 5 behalf of one of his children, and the case was remanded to appeals. After that subsequent appeal determination a supplemental notice of determination was issued to the Petitioner. At trial the Petitioner testified that he was willing to pay $200 per month, and the record indicates that the settlement officer felt that Petitioner should have to pay in the neighborhood of $290 per month. The record indicates that the settlement officer did not consider Petitioner's student loan payments, but that the settlement officer did carefully consider Petitioner's financial situation and determined that there was more than adequate income available to the Petitioner to pay the additional $90 over and above the amount Petitioner was willing to pay. We have carefully reviewed the settlement officer's computations and can find no basis to determine that there was an abuse of discretion by the settlement officer. Abuse of discretion is the appropriate standard in this case because the underlying tax liability is not at issue. The only issue raised by the Petitioner was the fact that he feels that $200 is all he can pay. While we are sympathetic to the Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13· 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Petitioner's narrow financial circumstances and his efforts to support his children, we are compelled to review this case based upon the abuse of discretion standard, Sego v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 604, 610 (2000). Given our determination that the settlement officer did not abuse discretion there is only one result that can be reached in this case and that is a decision for the Respondent. This concludes the Court's Oral Findings of Fact and Opinion in this case. (Whereupon, at 9:10 a.m., the bench opinion in the above-entitled matter was concluded.) // // // // // // // // // // // // Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888