Decision will be entered for respondent.
MEMORANDUM OPINION KROUPA,
This case was submitted fully stipulated pursuant to
Respondent filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien in San Bernardino County against petitioner with respect to the penalties. Respondent also sent petitioner a notice informing petitioner of its collection due process rights. Petitioner timely submitted a hearing request seeking abatement of the penalties. Petitioner raised no other issue in the hearing request, nor did petitioner raise any collection alternatives in the hearing request, such as an installment agreement or an offer-in-compromise.
Settlement Officer Wendy J. Clinger (SO Clinger) sent petitioner a letter scheduling a date and time for the hearing. She stated in the letter that the purpose of the hearing would be limited to discussing the lien and that, pursuant to
Responding to SO Clinger, petitioner provided the same information and repeated the same arguments it had previously raised during the penalty appeal. Petitioner also claimed it had "not had the opportunity to dispute the appropriateness of the collection action." Petitioner did not raise any other arguments, including objections to the collection action or collection alternatives.
Petitioner chose not to participate in a face-to-face hearing with SO Clinger and declined the opportunity to discuss the matter by telephone. Petitioner instead requested that SO Clinger make her determination using documents it had previously submitted. 42010 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 175">*179 The documents submitted to SO Clinger only address petitioner's liability for the penalties. They do not raise any relevant issues.
SO Clinger issued petitioner a determination notice sustaining the filing of the lien. She determined through account transcript analysis that the penalties were properly assessed and that petitioner was properly notified of the assessments and informed of its rights with respect to the lien action. SO Clinger also determined that petitioner had previously had the opportunity to challenge its liability for the penalties and was therefore precluded from challenging it again. She further determined that petitioner did not raise any relevant arguments, including defenses and collection alternatives.
Petitioner timely filed a petition in response to the determination notice. The only issue raised is whether petitioner is liable for the penalties.
We are asked to decide in this collection review matter whether respondent abused his discretion by proceeding with the lien action to collect the penalties from petitioner. Petitioner only wants to contest its liability for the penalties. We begin with general rules that apply to collection actions.
The Secretary is required to furnish the taxpayer with written 2010 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 175">*180 notice that a lien has been filed.
After the hearing, the Appeals officer is required to make a determination that addresses issues the taxpayer raised, verifies that all requirements of applicable law and administrative procedure have been met, and balances the need for the efficient collection of taxes with the legitimate concern of the person that any collection action be no more intrusive than necessary.
The record reflects that SO Clinger properly verified that 2010 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 175">*181 respondent followed the applicable law and administrative procedure. 52010 Tax Ct. Memo LEXIS 175">*182 She reviewed respondent's account transcript and concluded that petitioner received all notices and was accorded all rights to which it was entitled regarding the assessments. Additionally, petitioner did not raise any relevant issues for SO Clinger's consideration. Petitioner did not provide any collection alternatives, nor did it present any other defenses for SO Clinger's consideration. Finally, the record reflects that SO Clinger properly balanced the need for efficient collection of taxes with petitioner's legitimate concern that any collection be no more intrusive than necessary. We therefore conclude that SO Clinger did not abuse her discretion in sustaining the lien action to collect the penalties from petitioner.
We decline petitioner's invitation to review whether petitioner had reasonable cause to file the return almost 18 months after the due date. That question is not before the Court. We previously granted respondent's partial summary judgment on the question whether petitioner may challenge its liability for the penalties in this collection review matter.
We have considered all arguments made in reaching our decision, and, to the extent not mentioned, we conclude that they are moot, irrelevant, or without merit.
To reflect the foregoing,
1. All section references are the Internal Revenue Code, and all Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, unless otherwise indicated.↩
2. Respondent filed a motion for summary judgment. We recharacterized respondent's motion as a motion for partial summary judgment and granted partial summary judgment to respondent that petitioner was foreclosed from challenging the underlying liability for the penalties. We left open whether filing the lien was appropriate to collect the penalties. It is that issue we decide today.
3. Petitioner filed a petition in this Court (Docket No. 26219-07) to contest AO Woodbury's determination not to abate the penalties. That petition was untimely, and the case was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
4. Apparently petitioner now seeks to negotiate the penalties and has stated that it would like each party to concede 50 percent of the liability based on doubt as to liability. Petitioner is precluded from challenging its liability for the penalties pursuant to our order granting respondent's motion for partial summary judgment.
5. Petitioner elected not to participate in a face-to-face or telephone hearing with SO Clinger and requested that she make her determination using documents it had submitted to her. Petitioner now argues in its briefs that its due process rights were violated when SO Clinger denied its request for a face-to-face hearing. We find no abuse of discretion by SO Clinger in light of petitioner's waiver of the opportunity for a hearing in person or by telephone.