ALAN H. GINSBURG AND ESTATE OF HARRIET F. GINSBURG, DECEASED, ALAN H. GINSBURG, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE, Petitioners v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
Docket No. 13330-05
UNITED STATES TAX COURT
August 30, 2006
127 T.C. No. 5
GOEKE, Judge
Held: The notice adjusts both partnership and affected items. We have jurisdiction to review those adjustments to the extent that they are for affected items.
Held, further, under sec. 6229(b)(3), I.R.C., the notice of deficiency is untimely because the Forms 872 did not reference adjustments for partnership or affected items.
N. Jerold Cohen, Sheldon M. Kay, and Joseph M. DePew, for petitioners.
Stephen R. Takeuchi, for respondent.
OPINION
GOEKE, Judge: This case is before us on petitioners’ motions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and for summary judgment. The issue raised by petitioners’ motion to dismiss is whether respondent‘s notice of deficiency properly adjusted losses attributable to a partnership at the partner level
The issue raised by petitioners’ motion for summary judgment is based on the assumption that we hold that the items respondent seeks to adjust are affected items. Under that assumption, petitioners question whether the period of limitations on assessment of tax attributable to affected items as set forth in sections 6501 and 6229 has expired. In particular, we must decide whether section 6229(b)(3) causes the extension of the period of limitations in this case to be ineffective regarding the affected items at issue. We hold that it does, and that therefore the period of limitations on assessment has run.
Background
The parties agree on the basic facts. At the time that the petition was filed, petitioner Alan Ginsburg, who is a fiduciary for the Estate of Harriet Ginsburg, had a mailing address in Winter Park, Florida. In 1995, the taxable year at issue, Mr. and Mrs. Ginsburg, who were married at the time, owned 100
Entity and Individual Returns
Form 1065, U.S. Partnership Return of Income, for UK Lotto reflected a total ordinary loss of $7,351,237. Of that amount, $6,936,038 was attributable to a loss reported on its Form 1065 from Pascal & Co., a partnership of which UK Lotto was a partner. NASM and FAP each reported 50 percent of the total loss from UK Lotto along with other items of income, deductions, gain, and loss unrelated to UK Lotto in their respective Forms 1120S, U.S. Income Tax Return for an S Corporation. NASM reported a total ordinary loss from trade or business in 1995 of $4,087,725. FAP
Extensions of Period To Assess Tax
Respondent examined the 1995 Form 1065 of UK Lotto. UK Lotto and respondent entered into six consecutive Forms 872-P, Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax Attributable to Partnership Items, for partnership items relating to UK Lotto‘s 1995 tax year. The last Form 872-P executed on behalf of UK Lotto and respondent for the taxable year 1995 extended the period to assess any Federal income tax attributable to partnership items to any time on or before December 31, 2003. On April 25, 2003, respondent sent a letter to the representative for UK Lotto stating that respondent accepted the 1995 partnership return as filed. Respondent did not conduct any more TEFRA partnership proceedings.
In addition, petitioners and respondent executed nine consecutive Forms 872, Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax, for petitioners’ 1995 taxable year. The last Form 872 extended the period to assess any Federal income tax to any time on or
Notice of Deficiency
Respondent issued to petitioners a notice of deficiency for the taxable year 1995 dated April 26, 2005. The total amount of the deficiency was $2,726,742. Respondent also determined a penalty of $545,348 under section 6662(a). In his notice of deficiency, respondent listed the following Schedule E adjustments:
| Family Affordable Partners, Inc. | $3,468,019 |
| North American Sports Mgmt., Inc. | 3,468,019 |
Respondent provided the same explanation for both adjustments, except that one referred to FAP and the other to NASP:
Since it has not been established that Pascal and Company incurred a deductible $6,936,038.00 loss in 1995, nor has it been established that any loss attributable to Pascal and Company is allowable to UK Lotto, LLC * * * or not limited, nor has it been established that any loss attributable to Pascal and Company is allowable to * * * [Name of S Corporation], or not limited, nor has it been established that any loss attributable to Pascal and Company is allowable to you, or not limited, your $3,468,019.00 distributive loss in 1995 from * * * [Name of S Corporation], that represents 50% of the claimed $6,936,038.00 loss by UK Lotto, LLC, * * * from Pascal and Company, is disallowed, and your taxable income is increased by 3,468,019.00 for 1995.
In their Statement 15 accompanying Schedule E, petitioners did not list any specific item of loss that corresponded with the $3,468,019 that respondent disallowed.
Discussion
I. Petitioners’ Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction
Petitioners’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction focuses on whether the disallowed losses are partnership items that must be adjusted at the partnership level. If we find that those losses are partnership items, then we do not have jurisdiction over respondent‘s adjustments in the notice of deficiency because such items may not be adjusted in an individual deficiency proceeding. See sec. 6230(a)(1).
TEFRA provisions divide disputes arising from “partnership items” from those arising from “nonpartnership items“. Maxwell v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 783, 787 (1986) (citing section 6231(a)(3) and (4)). If the tax treatment of a partnership item is at issue, the statute requires the matter to be resolved at the partnership level.
Petitioners argue that the notice of deficiency shows that respondent has adjusted partnership items reflected in the 1995 tax return of UK Lotto. Respondent maintains the items adjusted in the notice of deficiency were not partnership items but affected items that were ultimately disallowed on petitioners’ tax returns for reasons that were unique to petitioners’ circumstances.
The notice of deficiency potentially disallows the loss on three levels: The partnership level, the S corporation level, and the individual partner level. We will address the parties’ arguments in the context of each level.
A. Partnership Level
Respondent concedes that UK Lotto is a partnership within the meaning of
B. S Corporation Level
NASM and FAP are not TEFRA entities. They each reported 50 percent of the loss from UK Lotto. NASM and FAP are “pass-thru” partners under
C. Partner Level
Petitioners hold their interest in UK Lotto as “indirect partners” under
Petitioners argue that the notice of deficiency describes only partnership items, and that the explanation of adjustment calculates the disallowance of the loss to petitioners as if the basis for disallowing it was a partnership level adjustment. Petitioners therefore conclude that we are without jurisdiction over the items in dispute because all partnership items must be determined at the partnership level and not the partner level. See
Respondent contends that the notice of deficiency originally refers to affected items, not partnership items. Respondent argues that the reasons for disallowing the losses to
Despite the technical inaccuracies3 in respondent‘s notice of deficiency, the existing jurisprudence regarding the sufficiency of a notice of deficiency favors respondent. It is well settled that no particular form is required for a notice of deficiency, and that the Commissioner need not explain how the
Respondent argues that his adjustments are based on the limitation of the partnership losses to the partner‘s basis in the partner‘s partnership interest, the at-risk limitation under
We conclude that the phrase “allowable to you, or not limited” in respondent‘s notice of deficiency suffices to notify petitioners of the possibility of an affected items adjustment. The fact that there is a reference to affected items, however obscure, is sufficient despite the inconsistent adjustments made in the notice of deficiency.4
The items respondent seeks to adjust are affected items. Respondent would have to determine these items on the basis of factors that were unique to petitioners, such as each petitioner‘s basis in the S corporations and the extent to which each petitioner was at risk with respect to the Pascal & Co. investment. We have jurisdiction over affected items in this case, even though no FPAA was issued. See Roberts v. Commissioner, 94 T.C. at 860 (holding that the Court has
Having decided that we maintain jurisdiction and that respondent‘s assertion that the items in question are affected items is correct, we must now resolve the issue of whether the period of limitations under
II. Statute of Limitations
The central point of contention in the issue involving the statute of limitations is whether respondent‘s omission of a reference to partnership items in the Forms 872 executed with petitioners results in the expiration of the periods of limitation under sections 6501 and 6229.
A. Respondent Did Not Include Partnership Items in the Forms 872
SEC. 6229. PERIOD OF LIMITATIONS FOR MAKING ASSESSMENTS.
(a) General Rule.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, the period for assessing any tax imposed by subtitle A with respect to any person which is attributable to any partnership item (or affected item) for a partnership taxable year shall not expire before the date which is 3 years after the later of--
(1) the date on which the partnership return for such taxable year was filed, or
(2) the last day for filing such return for such year (determined without regard to extensions).
(3) Coordination with section 6501(c)(4).--Any agreement under section 6501(c)(4) shall apply with respect to the period described in subsection (a) only if the agreement expressly provides that such agreement applies to tax attributable to partnership items.
Although “partnership items” were not referenced in the consents petitioners executed, respondent argues that
Section 6501(a) provides a general period of limitations for assessing and collecting any tax imposed by the Code.Section 6501(a) defines the period in relation to the filing of the return of the person liable for tax; in this case petitioner rather than the partnership.Section 6229(a) sets forth a minimum period for assessing any income tax with respect to any person that is attributable to any partnership item or affected item. This minimum period is defined in relation to the filing of the partnership return. This minimum period can be greater than, or less than, the period of limitations insection 6501 .
Respondent‘s reliance on Rhone-Poulenc is misplaced. In Rhone-Poulenc, at the time the FPAA was issued, the period for assessing taxes under
Respondent maintains that
B. Respondent‘s Position Ignores the Cross-Reference in Section 6229(b)(3) to Section 6229(a), Which Includes Affected Items
Contrary to respondent‘s interpretation, “tax attributable to partnership items” refers to what must be stated in the agreement in order to extend the period of limitations, not to the limitations period itself.7 The preceding phrase “the period described in subsection (a)“, references
C. Respondent‘s Argument Implies That Section 6229 Applies Only If There Is an Adjustment at the Partnership Level
Although respondent does not specifically make this argument, implicit in his reading of the statute is that there must be a partnership level adjustment in order for
D. Respondent‘s Position Is Inconsistent With Prior Caselaw, Secondary Authority, and Respondent‘s Own Pronouncements
Our conclusion that
In his own manual, the Commissioner emphasized the need to include a reference to affected items in the Form 872. See Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 4.31.2.6.3. While the IRM does not have the force of law, the manual provisions do constitute persuasive authority as to the IRS‘s interpretation of the statute. Griswold v. United States, 59 F.3d 1571, 1576 n.8 (11th Cir. 1995).
In Maxwell v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. at 791 n.6, we determined that a deficiency attributable to an affected item is a “deficiency attributable to a partnership item.” Id. The issue in Maxwell was whether we had jurisdiction over a partner‘s deficiency proceeding when the items that were the subject of the adjustments were affected items determined by reference to a partnership item that was not the subject of a partnership level proceeding as required by
E. Respondent‘s Position Would Have Untenable Consequences
Following respondent‘s logic, we would have to conclude that since
In Rhone-Poulenc Surfactants & Specialties, L.P. v. Commissioner, supra at 549-550, we emphasized the importance of ensuring that extension agreements under
Contract principles are pivotal in determining the existence and scope of that agreement because section 6501(c)(4) requires a written agreement. Section 6229(b)(3) imposes a default rule for purposes of determining whether an agreement encompasses assessments that are attributable to partnership items. * * * [Citations omitted.]
If we were to adopt respondent‘s interpretation, such a course of action would not only make the application of
In interpreting
III. Conclusion
Respondent‘s notice of deficiency adequately references affected items over which this Court has jurisdiction. Nevertheless, on the basis of the statute and our precedent, we conclude that to extend the period of limitations for affected items the Forms 872 must specifically reference “partnership items” as required by
To reflect the foregoing,
An appropriate order and decision will be entered.
