Opinion
5673-24S
07-22-2024
AMANDA DUGAN, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Kathleen Kerrigan Chief Judge
On July 3, 2024, respondent filed in the above-docketed matter a Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction, on the grounds that no notice of final determination concerning a request for relief from joint and several liability under 6015(e) of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) had been sent to petitioner with respect to the taxable year 2019, nor had respondent made any other determination with respect to petitioner's such tax year that would confer jurisdiction on the Court, as of the date the petition herein was filed. Thereafter, on July 10, 2024, petitioner filed an objection to the motion to dismiss.
At this juncture, further review has revealed a multiplicity of discrepancies and obscurities in the record to date. For example, in the motion, respondent references a prior case litigated by petitioner at Docket No. 4056-23 as though it involved the taxable year 2019, but the notice of deficiency underlying that proceeding was for 2020, and its relevance to the instant is unclear. Furthermore, the motion states that petitioner advised respondent that she filed a Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, for taxable year 2019 in December 2023, but respondent does not confirm that representation, provide a specific date for the request, or offer a copy of the document. The materials petitioner attached to her petition did include a preliminary determination dated January 23, 2024, denying a request for innocent spouse relief for 2019, but respondent's motion is silent as to the status of that administrative proceeding, except insofar as to state that no final determination has been issued. The Court notes that six months without a final determination can have jurisdictional implications in the context of section 6015, I.R.C. Other statements in petitioner's objection regarding the timeliness of a protest and representations she received from respondent's personnel also raise questions.
Accordingly, the premises considered, it is
ORDERED that, on or before August 12, 2024, respondent shall file a response to petitioner's just-referenced objection and shall clarify therein the administrative processing of petitioner's 2019 tax year.