Passport Revocation Case Dismissed as Moot After IRS Reversal

Passport Revocation Case Dismissed as Moot After IRS Reversal

U.S. Tax Court

The Tax Court held that a married couple who received separate notices could file a joint petition challenging the IRS’s certification to the secretary of state that they had a seriously delinquent tax debt for the same tax year. The court dismissed as moot their case challenging the certification because the IRS reversed it and notified the State Department. Morris and Sharon Garcia had an unpaid joint tax liability for the 2012 tax year. In 2020 the IRS sent each spouse substantially identical notices of certification of seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department under section 7345, which provides for the denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport. The Garcias petitioned the Tax Court for review, claiming that the certification was erroneous and indicating that they had submitted an offer in compromise to the IRS for the debt. They also requested declaratory relief regarding the denial of their OIC. The IRS confirmed that the Garcias had a pending OIC for 2012, reversed the certification, notified the State Department, and sought dismissal of the couple’s Tax Court case as moot because the couple had received all the relief to which they were entitled. Tax Court Judge Albert G. Lauber first considered the question of whether the couple’s joint filing of a petition in a passport revocation case under section 7345 was proper, noting that this is an issue of first impression for the court. Lauber found that Tax Court Rule 34 provides for joint filing by couples who receive separate notices in deficiency and liability actions and concluded that the rule extends to other types of cases in which a husband and wife are issued separate notices concerning the same liability. Lauber then considered the IRS’s motion for dismissal and explained that under section 7345, if the Tax Court finds that a certification to the secretary of state was erroneous, it can order the Treasury secretary to notify the State Department of the erroneous certification. The court found that since the IRS has reversed the certification and notified the State Department there is no relief the court can grant, making the case moot. Lauber further explained that the court does not have authority in a passport case to address the couple’s other claims regarding the IRS’s treatment of their OIC.

The Tax Court held that a married couple who received separate notices could file a joint petition challenging the IRS’s certification to the secretary of state that they had a seriously delinquent tax debt for the same tax year. The court dismissed as moot their case challenging the certification because the IRS reversed it and notified the State Department.

The Tax Court held that a married couple who received separate notices could file a joint petition challenging the IRS’s certification to the secretary of state that they had a seriously delinquent tax debt for the same tax year. The court dismissed as moot their case challenging the certification because the IRS reversed it and notified the State Department. Morris and Sharon Garcia had an unpaid joint tax liability for the 2012 tax year. In 2020 the IRS sent each spouse substantially identical notices of certification of seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department under section 7345, which provides for the denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport. The Garcias petitioned the Tax Court for review, claiming that the certification was erroneous and indicating that they had submitted an offer in compromise to the IRS for the debt. They also requested declaratory relief regarding the denial of their OIC. The IRS confirmed that the Garcias had a pending OIC for 2012, reversed the certification, notified the State Department, and sought dismissal of the couple’s Tax Court case as moot because the couple had received all the relief to which they were entitled. Tax Court Judge Albert G. Lauber first considered the question of whether the couple’s joint filing of a petition in a passport revocation case under section 7345 was proper, noting that this is an issue of first impression for the court. Lauber found that Tax Court Rule 34 provides for joint filing by couples who receive separate notices in deficiency and liability actions and concluded that the rule extends to other types of cases in which a husband and wife are issued separate notices concerning the same liability. Lauber then considered the IRS’s motion for dismissal and explained that under section 7345, if the Tax Court finds that a certification to the secretary of state was erroneous, it can order the Treasury secretary to notify the State Department of the erroneous certification. The court found that since the IRS has reversed the certification and notified the State Department there is no relief the court can grant, making the case moot. Lauber further explained that the court does not have authority in a passport case to address the couple’s other claims regarding the IRS’s treatment of their OIC.

Sec. 7345 Revocation or denial of passport in case of certain tax delinquencies

Sec. 7122 Compromises

United States

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Passport Revocation Case Dismissed as Moot After IRS Reversal