procedure) must be followed to obtain a TAM or a TEAM on issues pertaining to taxexempt bonds, Indian tribal governments, federal, state, or local governments, mortgage credit certificates, and deferred compensation plans under § 457. Farmers' cooperatives .03 Even though the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries) has jurisdiction for issuing TAMs and TEAMs under $ 521, the procedures under Rev. Proc. 2003–5 and Rev. Proc. 90–27, 1990–1 C.B. 514, as well as $ 601.201(n) of the Statement of Procedural Rules (26 C.F.R. $ 601.201(n) (2002)), must be followed. SECTION 6. MAY A TAM OR A $ 301.9100 request is a letter ruling request .01 A request for an extension of time for making an election or other application for relief under $ 301.9100—3 of the Procedure and Administration Regulations is a letter ruling request even if the request is submitted after the examination of the taxpayer's return has begun or after the issues in the return are being considered by an area office or a federal court. Therefore, a § 301.9100 request should be submitted pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2003–1 (including the payment of the applicable user fee listed in Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2003–1). See section 5.02 of Rev. Proc. 2003–1. Period of limitations .02 The running of any applicable period of limitations is not suspended for the period during which a § 301.9100 request is being considered. See $ 301.9100–3(d)(2). If the period of limitations on assessment under $ 6501(a) for the taxable year in which an election should have been made, or any taxable year that would have been affected by the election had it been timely made, will expire before receipt of a 301.9100 letter ruling, the Service ordinarily will not issue the ruling. See § 301.9100–3(2)(1)(ii). Therefore, the taxpayer must secure a consent under $ 6501(c)(4) to extend the period of limitations on assessment. The filing of a claim for refund under $ 6511 does not extend the period of limitations on assessment. If § 301.9100 relief is granted, the Service may require the taxpayer to consent to an extension of the period of limitations on assessment. See § 301.9100–3(d)(2). Address to send a § 301.9100 request .03 Pursuant to section 8.03(1) of Rev. Proc. 2003–1, a § 301.9100 request, together with the appropriate user fee, must be submitted by the taxpayer to the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate), the Associate Chief Counsel (Financial Institutions and Products), the Associate Chief Counsel (Income Tax and Accounting), the Associate Chief Counsel (International), the Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries), the Associate Chief Counsel (Procedure and Administration), or the Division Counsel/Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities), as appropriate. The package should be marked: RULING REQUEST SUBMISSION. See Appendix A of Rev. Proc. 2003–1 for the appropriate user fee. (1) A $ 301.9100 request generally should be sent to the following address: Internal Revenue Service If a private delivery service is used, the address is: Internal Revenue Service Sec. 5.02 (2) A § 301.9100 request may also be hand delivered between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to the courier's desk at the loading dock of 1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. A receipt will be given at the courier's desk. The package should be addressed to: Courier's Desk If the return is being examined .04 If the taxpayer's return for the taxable year in which an election should have been made or any taxable year that would have been affected by the election had it been timely made is being examined by a director or considered by an area office or a federal court, the taxpayer must notify the director, appeals officer, or government counsel that it requested relief under § 301.9100. See § 301.9100—3(e)(4)(i) and section 5.02(3) of Rev. Proc. 2003–1. The taxpayer must also notify the national office of the name and telephone number of the person or office examining or considering the return. The examining officer, appeals officer, or government counsel is not authorized to deny consideration of a $ 301.9100 request. The letter ruling will be mailed to the taxpayer (or the taxpayer's representative) and a copy will be sent to the appropriate Service official in the operating division that has examination jurisdiction of the taxpayer's tax return, the appeals officer, or the government counsel. Section 8 of this revenue procedure discusses who must request a TEAM. SECTION 7. WHO IS Director or area director, appeals determines whether to request a TAM .01 The director or area director, appeals determines whether to request a TAM on an issue being considered. Requests generally originate with the examining officer or appeals officer assigned to the case and are submitted through the supervisory chain to the director or area director, appeals. Each request must be signed by the director or area director, appeals, or by someone with the delegated authority to sign for the director or area director, appeals. Taxpayer may ask that an issue be referred for a TAM .02 While a case is under the jurisdiction of a director or area director, appeals, a taxpayer may request that an issue be referred to the national office for a TAM. The request may be oral or written and should be directed to the examining officer or appeals officer. SECTION 8. WHO IS The parties responsible for requesting a TAM are discussed above in section 7 of this revenue procedure. Approval required .01 A request for a TEAM can originate with the taxpayer, exam or appeals personnel, or field counsel. All requests for a TEAM must be submitted through the supervisory chain for exam or appeals and must be approved by the director or equivalent official in the respective operating divisions or by the area director, appeals (or by an official authorized to act on their behalf) before submission to the national office. Taxpayer initiated request .02 While a case is under the jurisdiction of a director or area director, appeals, a taxpayer may request that an issue be referred to the national office for a TAM. The request may be oral or written and should be directed to the examining officer or appeals officer. Field counsel initiated request .03 Exam or appeals personnel can request advice from field counsel on issues involved in cases under their jurisdiction. If, during the discussion of an issue with an examining agent or appeals officer, field counsel believes that an issue warrants consideration as a TEAM, Sec. 8.03 a written or oral request to the examining agent or appeals officer that the issue be referred to the national office for a TEAM may be made. Resolution of conflicts over requests for a TEAM .04 If, after considering a request that an issue be submitted for a TEAM, the examining agent or appeals officer disagrees with the request, the taxpayer or the field counsel may request reconsideration of the denial through the appropriate supervisory chain. SECTION 9. WHEN SHOULD Uniformity of position lacking or unusual or complex issue .01 A TAM or a TEAM should be requested when there is a lack of uniformity regard a ing the disposition of an issue or when an issue is unusual or complex enough to warrant consideration by the national office. When a TAM or a TEAM can be requested .02 The provisions of this revenue procedure apply only to a case under the jurisdiction of a director or an area director, appeals. A TAM or a TEAM may also be requested on issues considered in a prior appeals disposition, not based on mutual concessions for the same tax period of the same taxpayer, if the area office that had the case concurs in the request. At the earliest possible stage .03 Once an issue is identified, all requests for a TAM or a TEAM should be made at the earliest possible stage in any proceeding. The fact that the issue is raised late in the examination or appeals process should not influence the field or area office's decision to request a TAM or a TEAM. Taxpayer participation not required .04 Although taxpayer participation during all stages of the process is preferred, it is not required in order to request technical advice. In the event that a taxpayer chooses not to participate in a request for a TEAM, the request will usually be treated as a request for a TAM. (See section 11.02 of this revenue procedure, which provides that all parties must agree that the TEAM procedures are appropriate, with two exceptions.) SECTION 10. WHEN SHOULD TAMs and TEAMs will not be issued on frivolous issues .01 For purposes of this revenue procedure, a “frivolous issue” is one without basis in fact or law, or that espouses a position which has been held by the courts to be frivolous or groundless. Examples of frivolous or groundless issues include, but are not limited to: (1) frivolous “constitutional” claims, such as claims that the requirement to file tax returns and pay taxes constitutes an unreasonable search barred by the Fourth Amendment; violates Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment protections of due process; violates Thirteenth Amendment protections against involuntary servitude; or is unenforceable because the Sixteenth Amendment does not authorize nonapportioned direct taxes or was never ratified; (2) claims that income taxes are voluntary, that the term “income” is not defined in the Internal Revenue Code, or that preparation and filing of income tax returns violates the Paperwork Reduction Act; (3) claims that tax may be imposed only on coins minted under a gold or silver standard or that receipt of Federal Reserve Notes does not cause an accretion to wealth; (4) claims that a person is not taxable on income because he or she falls within a class entitled to “reparation claims” or an extra-statutory class of individuals exempt from tax, for example, “free-born” individuals; Sec. 8.03 (5) claims that a taxpayer can refuse to pay taxes on the basis of opposition to certain governmental expenditures; (6) claims that taxes apply only to federal employees; only to residents of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, or “federal enclaves”; or that $$ 861 through 865 or any other provision of the Internal Revenue Code imposes taxes on U.S. citizens and residents only on income derived from foreign based activities; (7) claims that wages or personal service income are not “income,” are “nontaxable receipts,” or “are a nontaxable exchange for labor”; (8) claims that income tax withholding by an employer on wages is optional; or (9) other claims the courts have characterized as frivolous or groundless. A director may not request a TAM or a TEAM on an identical issue for the same taxpayer that an area office is currently considering .02 A case remains under the jurisdiction of the director even though an area office has the identical issue under consideration in the case of another taxpayer (not related within the meaning of § 267 or $ 1504) in a different transaction. With respect to the same taxpayer or the same transaction, when the issue is under the jurisdiction of an area office and the applicability of more than one kind of federal tax is dependent upon the resolution of that issue, a director may not request a TAM or a TEAM on the applicability of any of the taxes involved. a A director or an area director, appeals may not request a TAM or a TEAM on an issue if the same issue of the same taxpayer (or of a related taxpayer within the meaning of § 267 or a member of an affiliated group of which the taxpayer is also a member within the meaning of $ 1504) is in a docketed case involving the same taxpayer (or for a related taxpayer or a member of an affiliated group of which the taxpayer is also a member) for any taxable year. If a case is docketed for an estate tax issue of a taxpayer while a request for a TAM or a TEAM on the same issue of the same taxpayer is pending, the national office may issue the TAM or the TEAM if the appropriate appeals officer and government counsel agree, by memorandum, to the issuance of the TAM or the TEAM. SECTION 11. HOW ARE Pre-submission conferences are required when it is likely the field or area office will request a TEAM and encouraged for all TAM requests a .01 In an effort to promote expeditious processing of a request for a TAM or a TEAM, the national office will confer with the field or area office and the taxpayer prior to the time a request for a TAM or a TEAM is submitted to the national office at the office's or the taxpayer's request. To facilitate prompt action on a request for a TAM, the taxpayer is encouraged to request a pre-submission conference. In all cases where a TEAM will be requested, a pre-submission conference involving the taxpayer and the field or area office is mandatory (except for two situations where taxpayer agreement is not a prerequisite for a TEAM, see section 11.02 of this revenue procedure). A request for a pre-submission conference should A be made only after the field or area office determines that it likely will request a TAM or a a TEAM. If the request for a TAM or a TEAM will include issues requiring the involvement of more than one Associate Chief Counsel office, representatives from each Associate Chief Counsel office involved must participate in the pre-submission conference. a Purpose of a pre-submission conference .02 A pre-submission conference is intended to facilitate agreement between the parties as to the appropriate scope of the request for a TAM or a TEAM, the factual information and documents to be included in the request, any collateral issues that either should or should not be included in the request, and any other substantive or procedural considerations that will allow the national office to provide the parties with a TAM or a TEAM as expeditiously as possible. During the pre-submission conference, the parties should determine whether the issue(s) are appropriate for a TEAM. The parties should discuss the framing of the issue(s), what back a Sec. 11.02 ground information and documents are required and when the request for TAM or TEAM will be submitted to the national office. Where more than one Associate Chief Counsel office will be involved in responding to a proposed TEAM, each must agree that the request is suitable for TEAM procedures and that the necessary coordination can be provided within the TEAM time frames. If the parties do not agree that the TEAM procedures are appropriate, then the request will be processed subject to the procedures in this revenue procedure for a TAM, except that taxpayer agreement is not required for the following: a (1) consideration of whether a letter ruling should be revoked or modified because the field or area office has determined that there are material differences from the controlling facts on which the original ruling was based. Per section 12.03 of Rev. Proc. 2003–1 (this Bulletin), such requests will be subject to the TEAM procedures; (2) as described in section 14.08 of this revenue procedure, TAMs and TEAMs related to criminal or civil fraud cases or jeopardy or termination assessments. A pre-submission conference is not intended to create an alternative procedure for determining the merits of the substantive positions advocated by the field or area office or by the taxpayer. The conference is intended only to facilitate the overall TAM or TEAM process. a Request for a pre-submission conference must be submitted in writing by the field or area office a .03 A request for a pre-submission conference for a TAM or a TEAM must be submitted in writing by the field or area office. The request should identify the Associate Chief Counsel office expected to have jurisdiction over the request for a TAM or a TEAM. The request should include a brief explanation of the primary issue so that an assignment to the appropriate branch can be made. The field or area office is strongly encouraged to coordinate with field counsel regarding TAM pre-submission conferences (coordination with field counsel is required for TEAM pre-submission conferences). If the request involves a designated issue or an industry issue under the Office of Pre-Filing and Technical Guidance, LMSB, the field office is strongly encouraged to coordinate with the technical advisor. If the request is from Appeals and involves a coordinated issue or emerging issue under the Appeals Industry Specialization Program (ISP) or Appeals Coordinated Issue (ACI) Program, the area office must coordinate with the Appeals ISP/ACI Coordinator. To request a pre-submission conference for a TAM, an original and one copy of the request should be submitted to the appropriate address listed in section 12.03 of this revenue procedure. To request a pre-submission conference for a TEAM, the request must be made by FAX to the Technical Services Staff at 202–622–3501 and must be confirmed in writing by the director or area director, appeals. The receipt of the FAX will be confirmed by the national office within one working day. Branch will contact the field or .04 If a TAM is requested, within 5 working days after it receives the request, the branch assigned responsibility for conducting the pre-submission conference will contact the field or area office to arrange a mutually convenient time for the parties to participate in the conference. The conference generally should be held within 30 calendar days after the field or area office is contacted. The field or area office will be responsible for coordinating with the taxpayer as well as with any other Service personnel whose participation the field or area office believes would be appropriate. If a TEAM is requested, the branch assigned responsibility for conducting the pre a submission conference will contact the field within 5 calendar days of receiving the request to schedule the conference. The conference will be held within 15 calendar days of the assigned branch's call to the field. Pre-submission conferences for TAMs and TEAMs generally conducted by telephone .05 Generally, pre-submission conferences for TAMs and TEAMs will be held by telephone, unless the parties specifically request a meeting in person. In no event will a request for an in-person pre-submission conference on a TEAM be allowed to delay the conference beyond the 15-day period set forth above in section 11.04 of this revenue procedure. Sec. 11.02 |