Shapiro v. Commissioner

73 T.C. 313, 1979 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15
United States Tax Court·Decided November 26, 1979·No. Docket Nos. 178-74, 6489-76·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

OPINION

Tannenwald, Judge:

Respondent has asserted deficiencies in petitioners’ income taxes as follows:

Additions to tax
Deficiency Delinquency Negligence Underestimation of tax
Docket No. Year of tax (Sec. 6651(a))1 (Sec. 6653(a)) (Sec. 6651(a))
178-74 1970 $5,137.89 $1,284.47 $256.90 $164.42
1971 79,368.50 3,968.43
Deficiency Addition to tax — fraud Diability of Bella Shapiro Docket No. Year of tax (Sec. 6653(b)) limited to deficiency of tax
6489-76 1972 $22,562.63 $11,281.31 $22,562.63
1973 136,578.10 68,289.05 136,578.10

Respondent also, on December 6, 1973, issued a jeopardy assessment and seized some $35,000 of assets in respect of the tax liabilities asserted in docket No. 178-74.

With minor exceptions, the asserted deficiencies are based upon income alleged to have been derived from dealings in narcotics by Samuel Shapiro and reflect projections of such income based upon alleged specific transactions.2

On September 28, 1979, petitioners filed a motion for the release of $15,000 from the lien created as the result of the jeopardy assessment in order to enable petitioner to pay attorneys’ fees and costs in connection with the above-docketed cases. A hearing was held in respect of said motion on October 24, 1979, at which petitioner Samuel Shapiro testified as to the financial position of himself and his wife, who is the copetitioner in docket No. 6489-76.

Although the record as to petitioner’s financial position is not crystal clear, at least as far as concerns the possible availability, for the payment of litigation costs, including counsel fees, of assets not subject to the jeopardy assessment during earlier periods of the pendency of these cases, we are satisfied and we find that, at the present time, neither of the petitioners has sufficient assets or sources of income or funds from which to pay such litigation costs.

The issue of the release of funds, which are the subject of a jeopardy assessment, to pay litigation costs of a taxpayer who has no other sources for the payment of such costs is a difficult one. See Human Engineering Institute v. Commissioner, 61 T.C. 61, 66-68 (1973). On the one hand, there is no question that, as able counsel for petitioners has so forcefully argued, the unavailability of funds obviously has a direct and adverse impact upon the ability of a taxpayer to be provided with the effective assistance of counsel. That there is an element of unfairness involved cannot be denied, particularly where, as is the case herein, such funds would in all likelihood have been available but for the action of respondent in making the jeopardy assessment.

On the other hand, the courts have recognized the barrier of the Anti-Injunction Act (sec. 7421(a))3 and have held that in order for a taxpayer to avoid the impact of that act, where a jeopardy assessment is involved, he is required to show that (a) he will suffer irreparable injury and (b) under no circumstances could the Government ultimately prevail. See Commissioner v. Shapiro, 424 U.S. 614, 623 (1976); Enochs v. Williams Packing Co., 370 U.S. 1, 7 (1962). The underlying purpose of such a restrictive view is to assure the Government of its ability to collect revenue promptly. See Enochs v. Williams Packing Co., supra. To a certain extent, that restrictive view has been statutorily relaxed by the enactment of section 7429 in 1976 permitting review of a jeopardy assessment by United States District Courts to determine whether it is “reasonable under the circumstances.” See section 7429(b)(2)(A).4 In this connection, we note that there is not the slightest suggestion in the legislative history of section 7429 that the review of jeopardy assessments provided for therein should include a power to release funds to pay litigation costs and it is obvious that the statute itself does not so provide. See H. Rept. 94-658, pp. 299-304 (1975), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 2) 695, 991-996; S. Rept. 94-938, pp. 359-367 (1976), 1976-3 C.B. (Vol. 3) 49, 397-405. Moreover, we think it of some significance that, when Congress recently provided for the allowance of attorneys’ fees as part of litigation costs in connection with suits by the United States Government to enforce the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (Pub. L. 94-559, 90 Stat. 2641, amending 42 U.S.C. sec. 1988; see also Key Buick Co. v. Commissioner, 68 T.C. 178 (1977), on appeal (5th Cir., Aug. 15,1977)), it limited such allowance to the “prevailing party,” which quite obviously postpones the determination until the conclusion of the litigation.

Where the courts have been faced with the problem, they have uniformly refused, albeit sometimes reluctantly, to sanction the release of funds for the purpose of paying litigation costs, including counsel fees, on the ground that the only basis for a constitutional claim on the part of the taxpayer, whose assets have been seized, is the guaranty of a fair trial under the due process clause of the Constitution — a determination which they have held can only be made post trial. See Avco Delta Corp. Canada Ltd. v. United States, 540 F.2d 258 (7th Cir. 1976) and 484 F.2d 692 (7th Cir. 1973); United States v. Marshall, 526 F.2d 1349 (9th Cir. 1975); United States v. Bello, 470 F. Supp. 723 (S.D. Cal. 1979); Stone v. United States, 405 F. Supp. 642 (S.D.N.Y 1975), affd. without published opinion 538 F.2d 314 (2d Cir. 1976); see Human Engineering Institute v. Commissioner, supra, and cases cited and discussed therein (61 T.C. at 67). See also Rosenblum v. United States, 549 F.2d 1140 (8th Cir. 1977). In reaching their conclusions, the courts have frequently observed that, in any event, there is no constitutional right to obtain funds to pay for counsel of one’s own choosing. See United States v. Marshall, supra at 1355; United States v. Bello, supra at 725; Human Engineering Institute v. Commissioner, supra at 67. Nor have the courts found any basis for applying a different approach where a criminal prosecution was involved. See United States v. Marshall, supra; United States v. Brodson, 241 F.2d 107 (7th Cir. 1957); United States v. Bello, supra. Under these circumstances, we find unpersuasive petitioners’ attempt to distinguish the decided cases on the ground that the deficiency notices herein are rooted in alleged criminal activity, i.e., dealing in narcotics. See also Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391 (1938).

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Shapiro v. Commissioner, 73 T.C. 313, 1979 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 15 (tax 1979).

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