Theodore C. and Denise M. Schwartz v. Commissioner

128 T.C. No. 2UNITED STATES TAX COURT
THEODORE C. AND DENISE M. SCHWARTZ, Petitioners v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 2914-06L. Filed February 14, 2007.
Pursuant to sec. 6330(d), I.R.C., Ps filed a
petition challenging R’s determination to proceed with
collection. Ps elected to have this case conducted
under the small tax case procedures authorized by sec.
7463, I.R.C. The unpaid income tax involved is for the
1997-2003 years. The unpaid tax for any single year
does not exceed $50,000, but the total tax for all
years exceeds $150,000.
Held: Sec. 7463(f)(2), I.R.C., provides that a
sec. 6330, I.R.C., collection case petitioned to this
Court is eligible to be conducted under the small tax
case procedures “in the case of * * * a determination
in which the unpaid tax does not exceed $50,000.” The
total unpaid tax in this case with respect to which R
determined to take collection action exceeds $50,000,
and, therefore, the case is not eligible to be
conducted under the small tax case procedures provided
in sec. 7463, I.R.C.
- 2 -
Theodore C. and Denise M. Schwartz, pro sese.
Michele E. Craythorn, for respondent.
OPINION
RUWE, Judge: This case is before the Court for judicial
review of a Notice of Determination Concerning Collection
Action(s) Under Section 6320 and/or 6330 (determination letter).
The petition was filed pursuant to section 6330(d).1 Petitioners
requested that this case be conducted under section 7463, which
provides for what are commonly referred to as “small tax case” or
“S case” procedures. There was no objection to this request, and
the case was designated and tried as a small tax case under
section 7463.
Section 7463 generally allows disputes in small tax cases to
be decided in proceedings in which the normally applicable
procedural and evidentiary rules are relaxed. For example, Rule
174(b) provides: “Trials of small tax cases will be conducted as
informally as possible consistent with orderly procedure, and any
evidence deemed by the Court to have probative value shall be
admissible.” Tax Court decisions in small tax cases cannot be
appealed. Sec. 7463(b).
1
Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to
the Internal Revenue Code, and all Rule references are to the Tax
Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
- 3 -
For a case to qualify as a small tax case under section
7463, the amount involved may not exceed a specified dollar
amount. This amount is generally expressed as $50,000. However,
as later explained, the $50,000 limit is expressed in different
statutory language, depending on the type of tax in issue (e.g.,
income, estate, or gift) and the type of proceeding (e.g.,
deficiency cases, section 6015(e) spousal relief cases, or
section 6330 collection proceedings).
Section 7463 procedures are available in a section 6330
collection case where the taxpayer challenges the Commissioner’s
collection determination “in which the unpaid tax does not exceed
$50,000.” Sec. 7463(f)(2). In posttrial filings, the parties
agree that the following amounts of unpaid income tax are
involved in this section 6330 collection case:
Year Unpaid Balance of Tax1
1997 $2,052.96
1998 12,861.03
1999 27,040.65
2000 20,154.68
2001 37,315.70
2002 30,729.60
2003 23,566.81
Total 153,721.43
1
These amounts include interest and penalties. Interest and
penalties are generally treated as tax, and any reference in the
Internal Revenue Code to “tax” (with exceptions not applicable to
this case) shall be deemed to include interest and penalties.
Secs. 6601(e)(1), 6665(a). These are the amounts stated in the
Final Notice, Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right
to a Hearing, dated June 7, 2005. The determination letter
upholding the proposed levy to collect this unpaid tax was issued
on Jan. 3, 2006.
- 4 -
Because the total unpaid tax exceeds $50,000, but the tax for any
single year in issue is less than $50,000, we ordered the parties
to file responses to the question of whether this case could be
decided as a small tax case pursuant to section 7463. Respondent
and petitioners both took the position that it was appropriate to
proceed pursuant to section 7463 because the unpaid tax for any
single year was less than $50,000.2 Nevertheless, because this
issue concerns the Court’s authority to proceed under section
7463 and is in the nature of a jurisdictional question,3 we will
2
Respondent’s response filed Jan. 16, 2007, states:
“Respondent’s National Office has approved the position taken in
this Statement.” Shortly after the trial, the Court became aware
of a motion that the Commissioner had filed in an unrelated case,
docket No. 17199-06S, where he took the position that a
collection case brought pursuant to sec. 6330(d) could not
proceed under the small tax case procedures of sec. 7463 because
the total unpaid tax for the years in issue exceeds $50,000 even
though the unpaid tax for each separate year was less than
$50,000. The Commissioner has recently withdrawn the motion in
that case.
3
We have previously referred to the dollar limits in sec.
7463 as “the jurisdictional maximum for a small tax case”.
Kallich v. Commissioner, 89 T.C. 676, 681 (1987); Page v.
Commissioner, 86 T.C. 1, 13 (1986). While there is no question
that we have jurisdiction to decide whether the proposed sec.
6330 collection action is appropriate, there is a question
whether we can proceed to decide this matter as a small tax case
under sec. 7463. Sec. 7463(c), Limitation of Jurisdiction,
prohibits decisions in excess of the prescribed amounts. Sec.
7463(d), Discontinuance of Proceedings, provides for
discontinuance of proceedings under sec. 7463 where the amount
placed in dispute “exceeds the applicable jurisdictional amount”.
Appellate court jurisdiction is also affected because a decision
in a case decided under the sec. 7463 procedures is final and may
not be reviewed by a Court of Appeals. Sec. 7463(b).
- 5 -
decide whether the Court has the authority to decide this case
pursuant to the small tax case provisions of section 7463.
Section 7463(a) allows the small tax case procedures to be
used for cases
filed with the Tax Court for a redetermination of a
deficiency where neither the amount of the deficiency
placed in dispute, nor the amount of any claimed
overpayment, exceeds--
(1) $50,000 for any one taxable year, in
the case of the taxes imposed by subtitle A,
(2) $50,000, in the case of the tax
imposed by chapter 11,
(3) $50,000 for any one calendar year, in
the case of the tax imposed by chapter 12, or
(4) $50,000 for any 1 taxable period (or,
if there is no taxable period, taxable event)
in the case of any tax imposed by subtitle D
which is described in section 6212(a)
(relating to a notice of deficiency) * * *
[Emphasis added.]
Prior to December 21, 2000, there was no statutory authority for
utilizing the small tax case procedures for section 6330
collection cases. However, effective December 21, 2000, the
Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-554, sec.
313(b)(1), 114 Stat. 2763A-642, added section 7463(f), which
provides:
SEC. 7463(f). Additional Cases in Which
Proceedings May Be Conducted Under This Section.--At
the option of the taxpayer concurred in by the Tax
Court or a division thereof before the hearing of the
case, proceedings may be conducted under this section
(in the same manner as a case described in subsection
(a)) in the case of--
- 6 -
(1) a petition to the Tax Court under
section 6015(e) in which the amount of relief
sought does not exceed $50,000, and
(2) an appeal under section 6330(d)(1)(A)
to the Tax Court of a determination in which
the unpaid tax does not exceed $50,000.[4]
Section 7463(f)(2) is the provision that controls whether the
instant section 6330 collection case qualifies under the small
tax case procedures.
The difference between the expressions of the dollar limit
in subsections (a) and (f) of section 7463 presents the issue
that confronts us. Subsection (a) deals with deficiency cases
where a petition is filed on the basis of a notice of deficiency.
A deficiency notice and a petition can encompass a number of tax
years or periods. For example, a deficiency case might involve 3
taxable years where the amount of the tax deficiency in dispute
is $40,000 per year. Such a case would be eligible for small tax
case treatment because the amount of the deficiency placed in
dispute does not exceed “$50,000 for any one taxable year”. Sec.
7463(a)(1). However, a section 6330 collection case is not a
4
Sec. 6330(d) was amended by the Pension Protection Act of
2006, Pub. L. 109-280, sec. 855(a), 120 Stat. 1019, for
determinations made after the date which is 60 days after Aug.
17, 2006. As a result, the amendment eliminated subsec.
(d)(1)(A). However, the reference to subsec. (d)(1)(A) in sec.
7463(f)(2) was not changed. The amendment does not affect this
case because the determination was made on Jan. 3, 2006.
- 7 -
case for “redetermination of a deficiency”.5 Rather, a section
6330 collection case deals with the propriety of collecting tax
that has already been assessed. Because, as in this case, the
tax has already been assessed when the section 6330 collection
procedures are initiated, there is no deficiency in existence
when the proposed collection action is initiated.6
5
Sec. 6211(a), Definition of a Deficiency, provides:
SEC. 6211(a). In General.--For purposes of this
title in the case of income, estate, and gift taxes
imposed by subtitles A and B and excise taxes imposed
by chapters 41, 42, 43, and 44 the term “deficiency”
means the amount by which the tax imposed by subtitle A
or B, or chapter 41, 42, 43, or 44 exceeds the excess
of--
(1) the sum of
(A) the amount shown as the tax
by the taxpayer upon his return, if
a return was made by the taxpayer
and an amount was shown as the tax
by the taxpayer thereon, plus
(B) the amounts previously
assessed (or collected without
assessment) as a deficiency, over--
(2) the amount of rebates, as defined in
subsection (b)(2), made.
Sec. 6213 generally requires the issuance of a notice of
deficiency before assessment and collection of a deficiency.
Sec. 6213 allows taxpayers to petition this Court in order to
contest the Commissioner’s deficiency determination. If they do
so, assessment is generally prohibited before the Tax Court’s
decision becomes final. These cases are what we refer to as
deficiency cases.
6
In certain limited circumstances, the “underlying
(continued...)
- 8 -
Congress obviously recognized that section 7463(a) failed to
encompass section 6330 collection cases when it enacted section
7463(f) to clarify that a section 6330 collection case can be
litigated as a small tax case.7 However, in section 7463(f),
Congress provided an articulation of the $50,000 limit for
section 6330 collection cases that was different from that
expressed in section 7463(a) for deficiency cases. Section
7463(f) provides for the availability of the small tax case
procedures in a section 6330 collection case challenging “a
determination in which the unpaid tax does not exceed $50,000.”
The “determination” being appealed to the Tax Court referenced in
section 7463(f) is the same determination referenced in section
6330(c) and (d). In the instant case, the determination is that
6
(...continued)
liability” can be placed in issue in a sec. 6330 collection case.
See sec. 6330(c)(2)(B). However, the underlying liability is not
a deficiency, and a sec. 6330 collection case is not a case for
the redetermination of a deficiency within the meaning of sec.
7463(a). This is why Congress added sec. 7463(f). Petitioners
have not attempted to contest the underlying liability in this
case.
7
In enacting sec. 7463(f), Congress also recognized the
distinction between deficiency cases within the purview of sec.
7463(a) and cases petitioned under sec. 6015(e), in which
taxpayers seek relief only from joint liability. Cases brought
under sec. 6015(e) have become known as “stand alone” cases
because only the right to spousal relief is in issue. See
Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 329 (2000). Similarly,
Congress has authorized the use of small tax case procedures in
employment tax cases “if the amount of employment taxes placed in
dispute is $50,000 or less for each calendar quarter involved.”
Sec. 7436(c).
- 9 -
of an Appeals officer to proceed with collection by levy with
respect to petitioners’ 1997 through 2003 unpaid income tax
liabilities, which total more than $150,000. The “case” referred
to in section 7463(f) is the case before us in which petitioners
are disputing respondent’s determination to collect the unpaid
tax. Unlike the dollar limitation in section 7463(a) that refers
to tax dollars in dispute for each year, period, or taxable
event, the limitation in section 7463(f)(2) refers to the amount
of unpaid tax involved in a section 6330 collection case. The
unpaid tax in the instant case far exceeds that $50,000
limitation.
Respondent argues:
While section 7463(f)(2) may on its face appear to
suggest that the Court should consider the entire
unpaid balance of tax in determining whether the unpaid
tax exceeds $50,000.00, section 7463(f) provides, in
pertinent part, “... proceedings may be conducted under
this section (in the same manner as a case described in
subsection (a))”.
From this respondent concludes that the dollar limit in section
7463(f)(2) should be applied on a per-year basis as in deficiency
cases controlled by section 7463(a). The problem with this
argument is that it is contrary to the plain meaning of the
language in section 7463(f)(2). The dollar limit is clearly
expressed in terms of the “case” of “an appeal * * * to the Tax
Court of a determination in which the unpaid tax does not exceed
$50,000.” The dollar limit refers to the amount of unpaid tax
- 10 -
the collection of which is being challenged. The dollar limit in
section 7463(f)(2) is a condition that must be met before a
section 6330 collection case can qualify to be conducted as a
small tax case in the same manner as a case described in
subsection (a). If Congress had intended that the $50,000
limitation in subsection (f)(2) be applied to the amount of tax
for each year, period, or taxable event, it surely knew how to do
so; and it presumably would have used the same terminology as in
section 7463(a).8
In interpreting a statute, our purpose is to give effect to
Congress’s intent. Fernandez v. Commissioner, 114 T.C. 324, 329
(2000); see also Gati v. Commissioner, 113 T.C. 132, 133 (1999).
We begin with the statutory language. Allen v. Commissioner, 118
T.C. 1, 7 (2002) (and cases cited therein). Usually, the plain
meaning of the statutory language is conclusive. United States
v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc., 489 U.S. 235, 242 (1989); Woodral v.
Commissioner, 112 T.C. 19, 23 (1999). “When a statute appears to
be clear on its face, there must be unequivocal evidence of
legislative purpose before interpreting the statute so as to
override the plain meaning of the words used therein.” Fernandez
v. Commissioner, supra at 330; see also Huntsberry v.
8
Sec. 7436, dealing with employment taxes, contains
language similar to that of sec. 7463(a); i.e., the tax may not
exceed $50,000 for each quarter in order for the case to qualify
for small tax case procedures. See supra note 7.
- 11 -
Commissioner, 83 T.C. 742, 747-748 (1984). If the statute is
ambiguous or silent, we may look to the statute’s legislative
history to determine congressional intent. Burlington N. R.R. v.
Okla. Tax Commn., 481 U.S. 454, 461 (1987); Fernandez v.
Commissioner, supra at 329-330.
As indicated, we believe that the relevant statutory
language is clear. Neither party has cited any legislative
history that is inconsistent with the plain language of the
statute and we have found none. The parties have not argued that
a literal application of section 7463(f)(2) produces an absurd
result, and it is certainly not unreasonable for Congress to have
articulated different dollar thresholds for different types of
cases. Indeed, before the enactment of section 7463(f) in
December 2000, there was no provision for using the small tax
case procedure in section 6330 collection cases. We therefore
hold that the $50,000 limit in section 7463(f)(2) refers to the
total amount of unpaid tax which the Commissioner has determined
to collect. The fact that the unpaid tax for each year, period,
or taxable event does not exceed $50,000 is irrelevant.9
As previously indicated, a trial in this case has already
been conducted. Ideally, removal of the small tax case
designation should occur before trial. See Rule 171(c).
9
We express no opinion on the application of the dollar
limit contained in sec. 7463(f)(1) regarding cases under sec.
6015(e).
- 12 -
However, Congress foresaw the possibility that the parties and
the Court might, at any time prior to entry of decision, discover
that the relevant amount of tax exceeds the applicable
jurisdictional amount. Section 7463(d) thus provides:
SEC. 7463(d). Discontinuance of Proceedings.--At
any time before a decision entered in a case in which
the proceedings are conducted under this section
becomes final, the taxpayer or the Secretary may
request that further proceedings under this section in
such case be discontinued. The Tax Court, or the
division thereof hearing such case, may, if it finds
that (1) there are reasonable grounds for believing
that the amount of the deficiency placed in dispute, or
the amount of an overpayment, exceeds the applicable
jurisdictional amount described in subsection (a), and
(2) the amount of such excess is large enough to
justify granting such request, discontinue further
proceedings in such case under this section. Upon any
such discontinuance, proceedings in such case shall be
conducted in the same manner as cases to which the
provisions of sections 6214(a) and 6512(b) apply.
Section 7463(d) was enacted prior to section 7463(f) and does not
reference section 6330 collection cases. Nevertheless, the
procedures for discontinuance of small tax case proceedings
contained in section 7463(d) apply to “a case in which the
proceedings are conducted under this section”. Since it is now
apparent that this case does not qualify for small tax case
treatment under section 7463, section 7463(d) provides a logical
remedy.10
10
Sec. 7436(c) provides for availability of sec. 7463 small
tax case procedures in employment tax cases where the amount in
dispute is $50,000 or less for each calendar quarter and provides
for use of the discontinuance procedures in sec. 7463(d). Sec.
(continued...)
- 13 -
The unpaid tax in this case is more than three times the
$50,000 limit provided in section 7463(f)(2). We have therefore
removed the small tax case designation and discontinued the
proceedings under section 7463. We will take appropriate action
so that proceedings in this case will be conducted in conformity
with procedures applicable to section 6330 collection cases that
are not designated as small tax cases under section 7463.
An appropriate order will
be issued.
10
(...continued)
7436(c)(3) provides: “Rules similar to the rules of the last
sentence of subsection (a), and subsections (c), (d), and (e), of
section 7463 shall apply to proceedings conducted under this
subsection.”