Opinion
25869-21S
01-05-2022
Dwight L. Longenecker & Alison C. Longenecker Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
Maurice B. Foley Chief Judge
On October 29, 2021, a Letter Dated October 25, 2021, was filed on behalf of petitioners by Lisa McKiernan. That letter indicates that petitioners' dispute with the IRS has been satisfactorily resolved, and they wish to withdraw their Tax Court petition. However, that letter is an improper filing as the letter was not signed by petitioners themselves or by a practitioner admitted to practice before this Court. We will, therefore, strike that letter from the Court's record.
In addition, the Tax Court is separate and independent from the IRS. In a deficiency case where the Court has jurisdiction, Internal Revenue Code section 7459(d) generally requires the Court to enter a decision as to the amount of the deficiency, if any. Settles v. Commissioner, 138 T.C. 372, 374 (2012). Because this case is based on a notice of deficiency, the Court is required by the just-referenced statute to enter a decision and, accordingly, the petition in this case may not be withdrawn or dismissed by petitioners. Petitioners are advised that if their matter has been resolved with the IRS, they should contact respondent's counsel (whose contact information is included in the answer to the petition filed by respondent on November 24, 2021) to confer regarding the possibility of submitting proposed stipulated decision documents to the Court so that this case may be concluded.
In view of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that the above-referenced letter is stricken from the Court's record in this case.