The last couple days (hi, Judge Holmes) haven’t been great for preparers. Yesterday that Obliging Jurist Judge David Gustafson sent Tarig Gabr’s trusty attorney off to an evidentiary hearing to try to get Tarig a CDP from the Section 6694(b) preparer chops the IRS unloaded on Tarig.

See my blogpost “Read The Whole Thing,” 9/25/17, for the whole story.

Now George J. Foxx, Docket No. 14404-17, filed 9/26/17, is on the Section 6694(b) chopping block for three (count ‘em, three) years. George got bounced by Appeals with a Letter 1342, and IRS sent him back his papers.

George petitions the “small court.”

Ch J L Paige (“Iron Fist”) Marvel isn’t having any.

After the obligatory “we are a court of strictly limited jurisdiction,” Ch J Iron Fist notes that while George claimed he wanted Section 6404(h) abatement, he admits in his petition that interest isn’t an issue.

“Although petitioner indicated in his petition that he seeks review of a notice of final determination not to abate interest, he states in his objection to respondent’s motion to dismiss that this case ‘has nothing to do with interest abatement.’ Accordingly, no pertinent claims involving I.R.C. section 6015, 6404(h), or 7436, respectively, appear to be involved in this case.

“In his objection, petitioner argues that he is being denied due process and that this Court has jurisdiction to review the ‘final determination proffered to Petitioner to just pay a fine’. Petitioner’s statement appears to be a reference to the Letter 1342 that petitioner received from the IRS Appeals Office sustaining the imposition against him of tax preparer penalties pursuant to I.R.C. 6694(b). However, petitioner’s belief that this Court has jurisdiction to review that decision by the IRS is mistaken. I.R.C. 6696(b) specifically provides that deficiency procedures do not apply to the assessment or collection of the penalties set forth in I.R.C. section 6694, 6695, and 6695A. Nor is the Letter 1342 that petitioner received one of the types of notice of determination (described above) that is sufficient to confer jurisdiction on this Court.” Order, at pp. 2-3.

The doors of the “small court” are closed to chopped preparers. And if they go to Appeals rather than waiting for a NFTL or NITL, they lost their chance to contest if they get one now.