Opinion
20320-21
10-04-2021
Paul M. May & Deborah J. May Petitioners v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
Maurice B. Foley Chief Judge
On June 7, 2021, the Court received from petitioners correspondence incorporating copy of a notice of deficiency dated March 1, 2021, issued to petitioner with respect to the 2018 taxable year. To protect petitioners' statutory time period within which to begin a case, the Court filed that correspondence as a petition to commence this proceeding at Docket No. 2030-21.
However, further review of the record at this juncture suggests a to possibility of a fundamental jurisdictional defect, calling into question the validity of the purported notice of deficiency dated March 1, 2021. In particular, the petition appears to indicate, through attached documentation, that the deficiency had been paid in December of 2020. If the amount of an alleged deficiency has been paid prior to issuance of a statutory notice pertaining thereto, the determined amount fails to qualify as a deficiency within the meaning of the governing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
The premises considered, it is
ORDERED that, on or before October 29, 2021, respondent shall show cause in writing why this case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, on the ground that no valid notice of deficiency, as authorized by section 6212 and required by section 6213(a) of the Internal Revenue Code to form the basis for a petition to this Court, has been issued to petitioners with respect to taxable year 2018. It is further
ORDERED that the Motion for More Definite Statement Pursuant to Rule 51 of the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, filed September 28, 2021, by respondent is denied pending resolution of the just-described issue of validity.
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