Opinion
12835-19
08-18-2021
Tomas C. Delos Santos Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson, Judge
This case has been pending for more than two years. In July 2019 petitioner Tomas C. Delos Santos filed his petition (Doc. 1) in response to a notice of deficiency issued to him on April 1, 2019, with respect to tax year 2012. On September 6, 2019, the Commissioner filed an answer to the petition.
Pending before the Court is a motion for leave to file first amendment to answer (Doc. 16) filed by the Commissioner on July 16, 2021. The Commissioner seeks leave to amend his answer to assert increased deficiencies and additions to tax based on petitioner's late-filed returns. By order of July 23, 2021, the Court directed petitioner to file a response to the motion for leave no later than August 10, 2021, and invited him to initiate a telephone conference between the Court and the parties. Petitioner initiated a telephone conference with the Court and the parties, which took place on August 11, 2021. During that call, petitioner stated he is seeking assistance from a tax clinic but is awaiting a response on whether the tax clinic will assist him with his case. Petitioner requested an extension of time to file a response to the motion for leave and Counsel for the Commissioner stated no objection. The Court encouraged petitioner to continue to cooperate and communicate with his opponent (counsel for the Commissioner) to work together to exchange information and work together towards a resolution of some or all of the issues in this case. Consistent with the discussion during the phone conference, it is
ORDERED that the time in which petitioner Tomas Delos Santos shall file a response to the Commissioner's motion for leave is extended to September 23, 2021. If petitioner does not obtain the assistance from a tax clinic, then petitioner shall fulfill his responsibility to comply with this Court's rules and orders, and he shall be responsible for filing a response to the Commissioner's motion for leave by September 23, 2021. It is further
ORDERED that the Commissioner's deadline to file his reply (or a status report) is extended to October 14, 2021.