Vigon
I recently wrote about an order in the case of Vigon v. Commissioner in which Judge Gustafson provided instruction to respondent’s counsel because of a failure to lay the proper foundation for a the summary judgment motion. IRS Counsel took the instruction to heart quickly and requested a continuance for a trial scheduled for February 22, 2017. The IRS now agrees that petitioner is not liable for the penalties at issue in the case and stated in its motion that it was in the process of abating the penalties. The IRS further stated that it was in the process of releasing the liens. This is a great result for a pro se taxpayer who did not initiate the arguments resulting in these concessions. The Court granted the continuance but had a question for the IRS:
“We understand how collection issues under section 6330(c)(2)(A) become moot if collection activity ceases. It is less clear how a liability challenge under section 6330(c)(2)(B) becomes moot merely upon an announced concession, which would not seem to have any res judicata or collateral estoppel effect. Perhaps a CDP petitioner who makes a liability challenge that the IRS concedes is entitled to decision in his favor on the liability issues.”
So, the Court ordered the IRS to make an appropriate filing by March 24, 2017, and to explain in the filing how it provide adequate relief to the petitioner on the merits side of this case.
Private Debt Collection
I also recently wrote about private debt collection and wanted to provide a quick update.
The IRS recently released sample CP40 notice letter. The letter alerts the taxpayer that their account has been assigned to a PDC. The hope is that the letter will prepare the taxpayer for the call(s) from the PDC and keep the taxpayer from having concerns that the PDC is a scam artist.