JULIE S. SNEED, Magistrate Judge.
THIS MATTER is before the Court on United States of America's Petition to Enforce Internal Revenue Service Summons ("Petition"). (Dkt 1.) Pursuant to 26 U.S.C. §§ 7402(b) and 7604(a), Petitioner, United States of America, requests an order directing Respondents, Pamela Gislason and John L. Gislason, to show cause as to why they should not comply with the summonses issued on them by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS").
On January 7, 2016, the IRS issued summonses to Respondents, Pamela Gislason and John L. Gislason, directing them to appear before Revenue Officer James Beck on February 8, 2016, to give testimony and to produce for examination and copying certain records set forth in the summonses. (Dkt. 1-1, 1-2.) The summonses were issued pursuant to an investigation of Respondents for the collection of federal income tax liabilities for 2005 (Ms. Gislason) and 2009 (Mr. Gislason) and were served on Respondents by personal delivery. (Dkt. 1-1, 1-2.) Respondent, John L. Gislason, did appear in response to the summons on February 8, 2016, but he did not provide the information requested in the summons. (Dkt. 1, ¶ 19.) Respondent, Pamela Gislason, did not appear. (Dkt. 1, ¶ 8.) On April 14, 2016, the IRS sent a letter to Respondents offering them another opportunity to satisfy the summonses by appearing on April 27, 2016. (Dkt. 1, Exs. A-3, B-3.) According to Petitioner, Respondents failed to comply with the summonses. (Dkt. 1.) Consequently, Petitioner filed the instant Petition to enforce the summonses. (Dkt. 1.)
The IRS is authorized to issue a summons to aid its investigation of an outstanding tax liability. 26 U.S.C. § 7602(a). Specifically, "[a] summons may be issued to take any testimony of the person concerned and to summon the person liable for the tax to produce books, papers, records, or other data that may be relevant to the inquiry." United States v. Morse, 532 F.3d 1130, 1132 (11th Cir. 2008) (citing 26 U.S.C. § 7602(a)). A district court has explicit jurisdiction to enforce the summons against a person who "resides or may be found" in the district. United States v. Rice, 522 F. App'x 540, 541 (11th Cir. 2013) (citing 26 U.S.C. § 7402(b)).
To obtain judicial enforcement of a summons, the government must show the following: (1) the summons was issued for a legitimate purpose; (2) the information sought is relevant to the legitimate purpose for which the summons was issued; (3) the information sought is not already within the IRS's possession; and (4) the appropriate administrative steps have been followed. United States v. Bichara, 826 F.2d 1037, 1039 (11th Cir. 1987) (citing United States v. Powell, 379 U.S. 48, 57-58 (1964)). An officer's declaration is sufficient to establish a prima facie case for enforcing a summons. See Morse, 532 F.3d at 1132 ("The IRS may satisfy its minimal burden by presenting the sworn affidavit of the agent who issued the summons attesting to these facts.").
The government has established a prima facie case for enforcement. As stated in the declaration of Revenue Officer James Beck, the IRS had a legitimate purpose for the summonses to conduct an investigation of Respondents' tax liability for specific periods; the information sought (testimony, documents, and records) is relevant to that purpose; the IRS does not have this information; and all administrative steps required by the Internal Revenue Code have been followed. (Dkt. 1, Exs. A, B.) Additionally, Officer Beck attests that "[a] Justice Department referral . . . is not in effect with respect to [Respondents] for the years at issue in this enforcement action." (Dkt. 1, Exs. A, B.) See 26 U.S.C. § 7602(d)(1) (prohibiting the issuance or enforcement of a summons to any person for whom a Justice Department referral is in effect). Accordingly, it is