I’m sure Judge Lauber agrees with the exalted author of that statement. Today, however, he wants to make sure that not only did the laborer receive compensation, but that the Forms W-2 got filed for the laborers at Pantano Baptist Church, 2018 T. C. Sum. Op. 3, filed 1/17/18.

And so, fresh from ex-Chief Whistler and now head of OPR Stephen A. Whitlock’s CPE jaunt through Circ 230, I turn to the Section 6721(e). Apparently the Pantanos didn’t bother to file W-2s; reason not stated, but said to be willful.

Although the chops are assessable (no SNOD necessary) and the Pantanos got a CP215, the Pantanos stood mute. So IRS hand-delivered Letter 1058 (NITL). Again no Pantano reply. So IRS unloaded a Letter 3172 (NFTL).

This caught the Patanos’ attention, wherefore they invoked the crew at the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

The Pantanos want to contest, but they blew it by not going to Appeals from the NITL. They were also behind with their latest filing and never submitted Form 433-B.

“The regulations specifically provide, in the case of a section 6320 challenge to an NFTL filing: ‘If the taxpayer previously received a CDP Notice under section 6330 with respect to the same tax and tax period and did not request a CDP hearing with respect to that earlier CDP Notice, the taxpayer had a prior opportunity to dispute the existence or amount of the underlying tax liability.’ Sec. 301.6320-1(e)(3), Q&A E-7, Proced. and Admin. Regs. The taxpayer therefore cannot challenge its underlying liability when it receives the second CDP notice. The same rule applies in reverse, i.e., where the taxpayer receives a lien notice, to which it does not respond, and later receives a levy notice.” 2018 T. C. Sum. Op. 3, at pp. 8-9 (Citations omitted).

The Pantanos got a Form 9297 Statement of Taxpayer Contact when the RO swung by to drop off the NITL, which they claim was all they got, except the IRS has a signed receipt for the NITL too.