Opinion
964-19S
11-16-2021
Alfredo Barragan Ramos Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Respondent
ORDER
David Gustafson, Judge
The IRS issued to Alfredo Barragan Ramos a notice of deficiency determining for 2016 an income tax deficiency of $22,204, plus an addition to tax and a penalty. Mr. Ramos then filed his petition in this Court. Our order of November 2, 2020 (Doc. 16), required the parties to "file a joint status report (or, if that is not expedient, then separate reports), describing the progress in the case". Since then, the Commissioner has filed status reports, but petitioner Alfredo Barragan Ramos has not. The Commissioner's report filed August 13, 2021 (Doc. 20), stated that the parties have reached a basis of settlement but that Mr. Ramos has not signed a proposed stipulated decision. In our order (Doc. 21) served August 31, 2021, the Court
ORDERED that, unless the parties have filed a proposed stipulated decision by September 17, 2021, then by that date Mr. Ramos shall, without fail, telephone the Chambers Administrator of the undersigned judge (at 202-521-0850) for the purpose of scheduling a telephone conference between the Court and the parties. [Emphasis in original.]
The Court has not received the parties' signed proposed stipulated decision, and Mr. Ramos has not complied with the Court's instruction. Rather, on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, the Commissioner filed a motion to dismiss (Doc. 22) this case for lack of prosecution. The motion proposes a reduced deficiency, and no addition to tax section 6651(a)(1) and a reduced penalty under section 6662(a). In the motion, the Commissioner states that Mr. Ramos "reached a basis of settlement concerning petitioner's taxable year 2016 with respondent's Appeals Office in September 2020". The motion alleges that the parties have agreed that the $22,204 deficiency originally determined for Mr. Ramos should be reduced to $12,041, that no addition to tax under I.R.C. section (a)(1) should be owing, and that the accuracy related penalty under I.R.C. 6662(a) should be reduced to $2,408. The motion states that the Commissioner had transmitted to Mr. Ramos but that he has not returned the signed decision document to counsel, and he has been unresponsive to counsel's attempts to reach him. The motion sets out the Commissioner's unsuccessful attempts by telephone and mail to communicate with Mr. Ramos.
In view of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that, no later December 3, 2020, Mr. Ramos shall file a response to the Commissioner's motion to dismiss, unless before that time a stipulated decision document has been jointly filed by the parties. If Mr. Ramos fails to file a response, then the Court would expect to grant the Commissioner's motion and enter decision for the lesser amounts reflected in the Commissioner's motion to dismiss.