Greenoak Holdings Ltd. v. Comm'r

143 T.C. No. 8, 143 T.C. 170, 2014 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 39
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedSeptember 16, 2014
DocketDocket No. 12075-13L.
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 143 T.C. No. 8 (Greenoak Holdings Ltd. v. Comm'r) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greenoak Holdings Ltd. v. Comm'r, 143 T.C. No. 8, 143 T.C. 170, 2014 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 39 (tax 2014).

Opinion

Ruwe, Judge:

Respondent issued a notice of determination to the personal representative of the Estate of James B. Irwin on May 1, 2013. Greenoak Holdings Limited, Southbrook Properties Limited, and Westlyn Properties Limited (petitioners) filed a petition for judicial review with the Tax Court on May 30, 2013. The issues for decision are: (1) whether petitioners’ alleged ownership interest in property that might be subject to levy by respondent entitles them to the rights afforded to “persons” under section 63301 and (2) whether this Court has jurisdiction under section 6330(d) of an appeal filed by entities other than the taxpayer liable for the unpaid Federal tax.

FINDINGS OF FACT

At the time the petition was filed, petitioners’ principal place of business was in Nassau, Bahamas.

James B. Irwin (decedent) died on September 21, 2009. On November 19, 2009, Howard L. Crown was appointed personal representative of decedent’s estate (estate). Respondent received from the estate a Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return (estate tax return), in December 2010, which was signed by Mr. Crown as executor and reported the estate’s probate and nonprobate assets. Among the nonprobate assets listed on the estate tax return was the Karamia Settlement, an offshore trust governed by the laws of Jersey in the Channel Islands, to which decedent allegedly made property transfers before death. The Karamia Settlement is the owner of petitioners.2

The estate failed to timely pay the estate tax reported on the estate tax return because, according to Mr. Crown, it did “not have funds available * * * which [is] attributable to the inclusion of the Karamia Settlement in the decedent’s gross estate.” Respondent assessed the tax reported on the estate tax return on January 31, 2011, along with an addition to tax for failure to timely pay tax shown on the estate tax return and accrued interest.

On November 28, 2012, respondent issued to Mr. Crown a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. Although the record before the Court does not indicate the exact amount reported on the estate tax return, the July 2, 2012, notice of intent to levy states that the estate owes a balance of $7,526,038.88. Mr. Crown timely submitted a request for a collection due process (CDP) hearing on December 27, 2012. The CDP hearing between Mr. Crown, his representative Mr. Pearson, and respondent was conducted via telephone conference on April 18, 2013. During the CDP hearing the estate argued that the penalties for failure to timely pay the estate tax due should be abated in the light of the estate not having sufficient liquid assets.

On May 1, 2013, respondent sent to the estate, in care of Mr. Crown, a notice of determination. The notice of determination (1) sustained the proposed levy against the estate’s nonprobate assets (i.e., those assets not in the custody of the Probate Court), (2) did not sustain the proposed levy as to the estate’s probate assets (i.e., those assets in the custody of the Probate Court), and (3) denied the estate’s request for penalty abatement. According to the notice of determination, the proposed levy was sustained as to only the nonprobate assets because “the Internal Revenue Service (Service) cannot administratively collect if the property is in the custody of the court.” While not identifying the nonprobate assets subject to levy, the notice of determination instructed that “Collection has to properly determine which assets are probate and which are not probate.”

Mr. Crown did not file a petition for review of the May 1, 2013, notice of determination on behalf of the estate. However, after receiving a copy of the notice of determination from Mr. Crown, petitioners, on their own behalf, filed a petition with the Tax Court on May 30, 2013.

Upon receiving petitioners’ petition, we issued an order to show cause on June 19, 2013, directing the parties and the estate to show cause in writing why the estate should not be substituted as petitioner. On July 11, 2013, respondent filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction (motion to dismiss), arguing that this Court does not have jurisdiction over the instant matter because the proper party to petition the Court for review of the notice of determination (the estate) did not timely petition and no determination was made with respect to petitioners that would confer jurisdiction upon the Court. Mr. Crown, on behalf of the estate, filed a response that essentially agreed with respondent and asked that the case be dismissed.

On January 16, 2014, Mr. Crown filed a notice of substitution of personal representative, indicating that he had resigned as personal representative of the estate and that Jill McCrory had been appointed as the successor personal representative. On May 6, 2014, Ms. McCrory filed supplemental responses to our order to show cause and respondent’s motion to dismiss, arguing that: (1) petitioners have standing to pursue the instant litigation on their own behalf; (2) the case should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction; or alternatively, that (3) the estate should be substituted as party petitioner and petitioners should be allowed to intervene.

OPINION

The issue before us is whether petitioners are the proper parties to petition this Court for review of the May 1, 2013, notice of determination which was sent to the estate in care of Mr. Crown. Petitioners assert that they have an ownership interest in the nonprobate property that might be subject to levy and argue that they “did not receive proper notice of the proposed levy action and were not afforded a fair opportunity to contest the proposed levy action and underlying tax liability”. Petitioners further argue that “[Respondent’s failure to provide proper notice under IRC Section 6330 * * * deprived [petitioner[s] of * * * [their] due process right to contest the amount of tax due in a hearing before an impartial Appeals Officer under IRC Section 6330(c), and to seek judicial review of any determination thereof under IRC Section 6330(d).” Petitioners nonetheless conclude that the “substance” of the May 1, 2013, notice of determination supports the proposition that this Court has jurisdiction over the instant appeal.

Respondent argues that Mr. Crown, as the personal representative of the estate, was the appropriate party to receive prelevy notice and to exercise any CDP hearing rights. Moreover, respondent argues that the taxpayer (i.e., the estate in care of Mr. Crown) was the proper party to appeal the May 1, 2013, notice of determination. Respondent concludes that “[pjetitioners have not demonstrated that a [n]otice of [determination sufficient to confer jurisdiction on this Court with respect to the estate tax liability of the [e]state was issued to them by * * * [respondent] as required by I.R.C. §§ 6330(c) and/or 6330(d).” We will begin by discussing the relevant law pertaining to collection actions and then will explain why we lack jurisdiction over petitioners’ appeal.

When “any person liable to pay any tax neglects or refuses to pay the same within 10 days after notice and demand”, the Commissioner is authorized to collect the unpaid tax “by levy upon all property and rights to property * * * belonging to such person”. Sec. 6331(a).

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Related

Greenberg v. Comm'r
147 T.C. No. 13 (U.S. Tax Court, 2016)
Greenoak Holdings Ltd. v. Comm'r
143 T.C. No. 8 (U.S. Tax Court, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
143 T.C. No. 8, 143 T.C. 170, 2014 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greenoak-holdings-ltd-v-commr-tax-2014.