2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*418 An appropriate order of dismissal will be entered.
On its 1997 income tax return, P reported zero tax
liability and claimed a refund resulting from claimed income tax
withholding credits. R paid P the claimed refund but later
determined that the payment of the refund was in error, as P had
made no income tax payments for which the withholding credits
were claimed. After R made summary assessment of the erroneous
refund, P requested a due process hearing. After R issued a
negative determination letter, P filed a petition for judicial
review of R's administrative determination. R filed a motion to
dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Held, because the Court lacks
jurisdiction over the underlying tax liability that R is
attempting to collect, the Court lacks jurisdiction to review
the administrative determination in dispute.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
THORNTON, JUDGE: This matter is before the Court on respondent's motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*419 1 As discussed below, we shall grant respondent's motion.
Unless otherwise indicated, section references are to the Internal Revenue Code as amended.
BACKGROUND
On its Form 1041, U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts, for taxable year 1997, petitioner reported income tax liability of zero and income tax withholding credits of $ 165,149, resulting in a refund claim of $ 165,149. On December 7, 1998, respondent issued petitioner a $ 166,293.04 refund for taxable year 1997. 2 Subsequently, respondent determined the refund had been erroneously paid because petitioner had not made the income tax payments for which credits had been claimed. On March 15, 1999, respondent summarily assessed the previously refunded amount and mailed petitioner a notice of tax due. Respondent
2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*420 Petitioner timely filed with the Internal Revenue Service a request for a due process hearing with regard to the filing of the notices of Federal tax lien. By notice of determination dated September 15, 1999, respondent's Appeals officer informed petitioner that his office had reviewed the proposed collection action and had determined that there were no deviations from applicable law or administrative procedures that would warrant release or withdrawal of the filed tax lien. 3
Respondent's notice of determination stated that if petitioner wanted to dispute the determination in court, it should file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court. The notice of determination further stated: "If2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*421 the court determines that you made your petition to the wrong court, you will have 30 days after such determination to file with the correct court."
Petitioner timely filed a petition for redetermination with this Court. Respondent filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. In his motion, respondent argues that the Tax Court lacks jurisdiction because petitioner's tax liability was summarily assessed under the authority of
On October 2, 2000, a hearing on respondent's motion was held at the Court's trial session in Columbia, South Carolina.
DISCUSSION
Petitioner seeks judicial review of an administrative action instituted by respondent to recover what respondent alleges was an erroneous refund paid to petitioner. As described below, the administrative collection procedures instituted by respondent are distinct from the deficiency procedures upon which this Court's jurisdiction is generally predicated.
In certain circumstances, pursuant to the general authority of
In other circumstances, the Commissioner cannot assess the tax until he has followed deficiency proceedings. In particular, if the Commissioner determines that there is a deficiency in the taxpayer's reported liability with respect to income taxes, estate and gift taxes, and certain specified excise taxes, he generally cannot assess the tax until a statutorily prescribed period of time (generally 90 days or, for taxpayers outside the country, 150 days) after he has issued the taxpayer a notice of deficiency. See
Once the Commissioner has assessed the tax, he may institute administrative collection action.
As enacted in the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 1998), Pub. L. 2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*424 105-206, sec. 3401, 112 Stat. 685, 746,
(1) Judicial review of determination. -- The person may,
within 30 days of a determination under this section, appeal
such determination --
(A) to the Tax Court (and the Tax Court shall have
jurisdiction to hear such matter); or
(B) if the Tax Court does not have jurisdiction of the
underlying tax liability, to a district court of the United
States.
If a court determines that the appeal was to an incorrect court,
a person shall have 30 days after the court determination to
file such appeal with the correct court.
Interpreting these statutory provisions, we stated in Moore v.
While Congress clearly intended for
opportunity for judicial review of collection matters, we
interpret
Congress did not intend to expand the [Tax] Court's jurisdiction
beyond the types of taxes that the Court may normally consider.
2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*426 THUS,
JURISDICTION EXCEPT WHERE THE COURT DOES NOT NORMALLY HAVE
JURISDICTION OVER THE UNDERLYING LIABILITY. [Emphasis added.]
See also
This Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, having only such jurisdiction as provided by Congress. See
In this case, respondent is attempting to collect an alleged erroneous refund resulting from petitioner's alleged overstatement of income taxes withheld. The assessments at issue were not subject to the deficiency procedures2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*427 but instead were subject to the summary assessment procedures of
2000 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 418">*428 In sum, because we have no jurisdiction over the "underlying tax liability" within the meaning of
Although petitioner cannot pursue its case in this Court, it is not without a remedy. Petitioner may seek judicial review in the appropriate District Court of the United States. See
To reflect the foregoing,
An appropriate order of dismissal will be entered.
1. The instant case involves the same jurisdictional issue as
2. This amount represents the reported overpayment of $ 165,149 plus interest of $ 1,144.04. subsequently filed notices of Federal tax lien in connection with the assessment.↩
3. The notice of determination states that the applicable laws and administrative procedures were met with "one exception", apparently relating to the filing of two notices of Federal tax lien in two different counties. Cf.
4.
If the taxpayer is notified that, on account of a MATHEMATICAL
OR CLERICAL ERROR appearing on the return, an amount of tax in
excess of that shown on the return is due, and that an
assessment of the tax has been or will be made on the basis of
what would have been the correct amount of tax but for the
mathematical or clerical error, such notice SHALL NOT BE
CONSIDERED AS A NOTICE OF DEFICIENCY * * * AND THE TAXPAYER
SHALL HAVE NO RIGHT TO FILE A PETITION WITH THE TAX COURT BASED
ON SUCH NOTICE, nor shall such assessment or collection be
prohibited by the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
[Emphasis added.]
As noted above, if the taxpayer so requests, a summary assessment relating to a mathematical or clerical error must be abated, and any reassessment must be made subject to the deficiency procedures. See