Trost v. Commissioner

95 T.C. No. 38, 95 T.C. 560, 1990 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1990
DocketDocket No. 22031-89
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 95 T.C. No. 38 (Trost v. Commissioner) 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
Trost v. Commissioner, 95 T.C. No. 38, 95 T.C. 560, 1990 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107 (tax 1990).

Opinion

OPINION

NlMS, Chief Judge:

This case is before the Court on respondent’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction as to petitioners’ distributive share of losses and credits from Stevens Recycling Associates for 1982 and to strike.

Background

Petitioners acquired a partnership interest in Poly Reclamation Associates (Poly Reclamation) and Stevens Recycling Associates (Stevens) during 1981 and 1982, respectively. Stevens was a partnership subject to the partnership provisions of subchapter C of chapter 63 added to the Code by section 402(a) of the Tax Equity & Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-248, 96 Stat. 324 (the TEFRA provisions) for 1982. Poly Reclamation was a partnership not subject to the TEFRA partnership provisions for 1982. On their 1982 income tax return, petitioners claimed losses and credits with respect to their interests in Poly Reclamation and Stevens as follows:

Losses Credits
Poly Reclamation $409 —
Stevens 13,063 $25,620

On December 10, 1986, petitioners filed an amended Federal income tax return (the first amended return) for 1982. On their first amended return, petitioners claimed losses and credits with respect to their interests in Poly Reclamation and Stevens as follows:

Losses Credits
Poly Reclamation — —
Stevens $15,000

Due to these adjustments, petitioners’ income tax liability for 1982 increased by $24,792. On December 10, 1986, petitioners paid the additional income tax due from the adjustments with interest.

On November 16, 1987, petitioners filed an amended income tax return (second amended return) reversing the adjustments previously made on the first amended return and claimed a refund in the amount of $24,792 with interest. Respondent has not made any determination with respect to the refund claim.

On June 5, 1989, respondent issued a notice of Final Partnership Administrative Adjustment (FPAA) to Stevens for 1982 through 1985. On July 24, 1989, Sam Winer, the tax matters partner of Stevens, filed a petition for readjustment of the partnership items with this Court. See sec. 6226(a).

By statutory notice of deficiency dated June 15, 1989, respondent determined deficiencies in and additions to petitioners’ Federal income taxes attributable to non-partnership items as follows:

_Additions to tax_
Year Deficiency Sec. 6653(a)(1) Sec. 6653(a)(2) Sec. 6659
1981 $5,127.21 $1,308.41 * $7,850.46
1982 675.63 33.78 *
*50 percent of the interest due on the deficiency.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all section references are to sections of the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the years in issue.) Respondent ignored the partnership items of Stevens in determining that petitioners were liable for a deficiency attributable to nonpartnership items for 1982. See Munro v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 71 (1989).

On September 8, 1989, petitioners timely filed a petition for redetermination of respondent’s deficiency determinations and claimed therein that they had made an overpayment of income tax attributable to their distributive share of losses and credits from Stevens for 1982. On October 27, 1989, respondent filed respondent’s motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction as to petitioners’ distributive share of losses and credits from Stevens Recycling Associates for 1982 and to strike. On November 20, 1989, petitioners filed an objection to respondent’s motion to dismiss and attached a memorandum in support thereof.

The issue for decision is whether we have jurisdiction to determine an overpayment attributable to partnership items in a proceeding for redetermination of deficiencies attributable to nonpartnership items.

Discussion

Respondent asserts that we do not have jurisdiction to determine an overpayment attributable to partnership items in this case because disputes involving partnership items are litigated separately from disputes involving nonpartnership items under Maxwell v. Commissioner, 87 T.C. 783 (1986). Petitioners contend that Maxwell does not apply to this case because respondent had issued an FPAA to the partnership before petitioners filed their petition. We agree with respondent. In Maxwell v. Commissioner, supra, respondent determined deficiencies in the taxpayers’ income taxes attributable to both partnership items and non-partnership items. The taxpayers filed a petition challenging respondent’s deficiency determinations. Thereafter, respondent filed a motion to strike for lack of jurisdiction as to any portion of the deficiencies attributable to partnership items.

In Maxwell v. Commissioner, supra at 788, we analyzed the statutory pattern and legislative history of the TEFRA provisions and stated as follows:

It is evident both from the statutory pattern and from the Conference report that Congress intended administrative and judicial resolution of disputes involving partnership items to be separate from and independent of disputes involving nonpartnership items. Consequently, the portion of any deficiency attributahle to a “partnership item” cannot be considered in the partner’s personal case involving other matters that may affect his income tax liability. * * *

In sum, judicial resolution of disputes involving partnership items are separate from and independent of disputes involving nonpartnership items. Thus, the portion of any deficiency attributable to partnership items cannot be considered in the partner’s personal case.

In the present case, respondent determined deficiencies in petitioners’ income taxes attributable to nonpartnership items for 1981 and 1982. Petitioners filed a petition for redetermination of respondent’s deficiency determinations and claimed therein that they had made an overpayment attributable to partnership items for 1982. Under our reasoning in Maxwell, we do not have jurisdiction to consider petitioners’ claim for an overpayment attributable to partnership items because this case only involves nonpartnership items.

Petitioners, however, contend that one of the “linchpins” of our decision in Maxwell was the finding that no FPAA had been issued to the partnership before the petition was filed. Thus, petitioners contend that our reasoning in Maxwell does not apply to this case because petitioners filed their petition after respondent issued the FPAA to the partnership.

Petitioners appear to rely on the following statement in Maxwell v. Commissioner, supra at 789, to support their contention:

In this case, no FPAA has been issued to [the partnership].

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Bluebook (online)
95 T.C. No. 38, 95 T.C. 560, 1990 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 107, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trost-v-commissioner-tax-1990.