One could hardly exalt calendar call in fortress-like 26 Federal Plaza on this Minor Outlying Island in such Wagnerian terms, but enlightenment it did bring today. Even without my colleague Peter Reilly, CPA, in attendance, The Great Chieftain of the Jersey Boys, Sandy Freund and her Scarlet Knight LITC, and the New York County Lawyers Calendar Call Commandos brought forth cases and comments worthy of note.

Frantic Frank Agostino and I agree that Zoomgov should continue in fullest force and effect even post-COVID, at least for trials. Yes, practitioners will need to adapt their adversarial skills to a television-like approach rather than live theater. However, the need for on-the-spot help for the hapless pro se cannot always be supplied in the breakout room (what a strange designation; sounds like a screenshot from The Shawshank Redemption). So the calendar call and the in-person trial will not, nor should not, vanish. But a large part of the Tax Court roadshow should be antique. Let’s see what Ch J Kathleen (“TBS = The Big Shillelagh”) Kerrigan has to say in two weeks on her update webinar.

The windfall recovery from a dead criminal’s estate brought an interesting discussion from Sandy Freund. The criminal extorted a C Corp into insolvency; what are the tax incidents of the recovery received years later on the ex-shareholders? IRS says entire amount taxable as ordinary income; Taishoff says not so fast. We’ll see who is right.

Courtroom 206 was filled to overflowing with Rutgers, Hofstra, and Cardozo law schools’ student clinicians. Great to see our successors honing their skills.

Tax Court judges appreciate the role the clinics play. Judge Elizabeth A. (“Tex”) Copeland refers Michael Crosby, Docket No. 9137-16, filed 10/31/22 to the Golden Gophers at U Minn. The SNOD Mike got from IRS alleged a deficiency greater than the $722K to which he pled in USDCDMN.

So Mike gets fraudulent failure to file Section 6651(f) chop based on the $722K, with the right to contest the additional $70K the IRS claims in the SNOD.

Of course, Mike is precluded from contesting fraudulent intent, as his plea to Section 7201 tax evasion is equivalent to conviction after trial. But intent doesn’t determine amount. See my blogpost “Not Estopped to Win,” 3/31/16 for more.

And Judge Tex Copeland thinks Mike might be maybe so able to get out of some Rule 90(c) deemed admissions, wherewith IRS seeks to nail Mike. Hence the suggestion to seek out the Golden Gophers.