Opinion
11642-20L
04-04-2022
ALEX BRANDON WILLIAMS, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER AND DECISION
David Gustafson, Judge
This "collection due process" ("CDP") case was scheduled to be tried at a Columbia, South Carolina, session of the Tax Court beginning October 4, 2021; but on September 3, 2021, the Commissioner filed a motion to dismiss (Doc. 7) this case for lack of prosecution. In the motion, the Commissioner alleged that petitioner Alex Brandon Williams has not provided the requested documents or records to support their claims, and that he has been unresponsive in pretrial preparation. The motion set out the Commissioner's unsuccessful attempts by telephone and mail to communicate with petitioners. In the motion, the Commissioner moves to enter decision sustaining the proposed collection of Mr. Williams's unpaid tax liabilities for 2013 and 2016. To learn more about the status of this case, the Court attempted to conduct a telephone conference with the parties, but Mr. Williams did not returned our phone calls. We therefore issued an order (Doc. 8) that required Mr. Williams to respond to the motion, explaining that "if the Commissioner's motion to dismiss is granted, it will have the effect of upholding the IRS's determination sustaining the proposed collection of tax liabilities for 2013 and 2016." Mr. Williams did not file a response.
This case was called and recalled from the calendar during the Court's Columbia, South Carolina, trial session, conducted remotely on October 4, 2021. Mr. Williams appeared with an attorney from a low-income taxpayer clinic ("LITC"), and the attorney stated that he would soon file an entry of appearance. Mr. Williams made an oral request for a continuance. Counsel for the Commissioner asked the Court to order the parties to file a status report in the next 30 days. We did not rule on the motion to dismiss but did continue the case, and we ordered a subsequent filing. (See Doc. 10.) The LITC attorney did file an entry of appearance on behalf of Mr. Williams (see Doc. 11), and since then the parties have consulted.
On April 1, 2022, petitioner filed a "Notice of No Objection" (Doc. 23), stating that "Petitioner hereby conveys notice that Petitioner does not object to Respondent's September 3, 2021 Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Prosecution". It is therefore
ORDERED that the Commissioner's unopposed motion to dismiss (Doc. 7) is granted. It is further
ORDERED AND DECIDED that respondent may proceed with the collection of petitioner's Federal income tax for 2013 and 2016 as described in the "Decision Letter on Equivalent Hearing Under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6320 and/or 6330" dated August 27, 2020.