standing any other law or rule of law" in section 6015(g)(1). Petitioner argues that "Any determination" in section 6015(a) is comprehensive and includes the application of section 6015(g)(1), and that State community property laws are disregarded under the "any other law" language in section 6015(g)(1).

Petitioner's position does not focus on taxable income for the taxable years at issue, but rather on the ownership of the payments made on the joint tax liabilities over the subsequent 20 years. Petitioner asserts that section 6015 requires this Court to reallocate payments between petitioner and Mr. Ordlock based on the economic sources, despite the continued existence of the marital community. This position has farreaching implications as it would cause us to read section 6015 as a statutory exception to the well-established law that State law defines ownership interests in property for purposes of Federal tax collections under section 6321. See United States v. Craft, 535 U.S. 274, 292 (2002); Aquilino v. United States, 363 U.S. 509, 513 (1960); United States v. Bess, 357 U.S. 51, 55 (1958); Morgan v. Commissioner, 309 U.S. 78, 82 (1940).

The question here is whether Congress has given us a "clear and unequivocal" intent to supplant community property law regarding payments of the type made on the Ordlocks' joint tax liability. Powell v. Commissioner, 101 T.C. 489, 494 (1993).

B. Statutory Interpretation and Construction

Our analysis begins with the language of the statute. Consumer Prod. Safety Commn. v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 108 (1980). Statutes are to be read to give effect to their plain and ordinary meaning unless that would produce absurd or futile results. United States v. Am. Trucking Associations, Inc., 310 U.S. 534, 543 (1940); see Tamarisk Country Club v. Commissioner, 84 T.C. 756, 761 (1985). Moreover, where the language of a statute is clear on its face, we require unequivocal evidence of legislative purpose before construing the statute to override the plain meaning. Halpern v. Commissioner, 96 T.C. 895, 899 (1991); Huntsberry v. Commissioner, 83 T.C. 742, 747-748 (1984).

1. Section 6015

Congress enacted section 6015 in the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 1998), Pub. L. 105-206, sec. 3201, 112 Stat. 734, as a means of expanding relief to innocent spouses. See H. Conf. Rept. 105– 599, at 249-255 (1998), 1998–3 C.B. 747, 1003-1009; S. Rept. 105-174, at 55-60 (1998), 1998-3 C.B. 537, 591-596; H. Rept. 105-364 (Part 1), at 60-62 (1997), 1998–3 C.B. 373, 432-434. Section 6015 replaced section 6013(e) for any liability for tax arising after July 22, 1998, and any liability for tax remaining unpaid as of that date.

2. "Any determination"

We first address whether a credit or refund under section 6015(g) is a "determination" for purposes of the last sentence of section 6015(a). We start with the statutory use of the word "determination" in the context of community property laws and relief from joint liability. Former section 6013(e) was added to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 by the Act of Jan. 12, 1971, Pub. L. 91-679, sec. 1, 84 Stat. 2063. It provided limited relief from joint return liability in paragraph (1) and included in paragraph (2)(A) the following "Special rules":

(2) SPECIAL RULES.-For purposes of paragraph (1)—

(A) the determination of the spouse to whom items of gross income. (other than gross income from property) are attributable shall be made without regard to community property laws ***

This "Special rule” remained a part of section 6013(e) until it was replaced by section 6015 in 1998.

The House version, Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997, H.R. 2676, 105th Cong., 1st Sess. sec. 321 (1997), of the community property laws exclusion for section 6015(a) included much the same language as former section 6013(e)(2)(A). However, the Senate amendment, RRA 1998, H.R. 2676, 105th Cong., 2d Sess. sec. 3201 (1998), and the adopted version of H.R. 2676 in RRA 1998 sec. 3201, eliminates the language modifying the word "determination" and refers to "any determination". The accompanying legislative history of the Senate amendment does not indicate any intent to disturb State law ownership interests

in property for purposes of recalculating payments in fixing refunds under section 6015. See S. Rept. 105-174, at 56-57 (1998), 1998–3 C.B. 537, 592-593.

The Joint Committee's explanation of the Senate's change is as follows:

Items are generally allocated between spouses in the same manner as they would have been allocated had the spouses filed separate returns. The Secretary may prescribe other methods of allocation by regulation. The allocation of items is to be accomplished without regard to community property laws.

Staff of Joint Comm. on Taxation, Comparison of Provisions of H.R. 2676 Relating to IRS Restructuring and Reform as Passed by the House and the Senate, at III-15 (J. Comm. Print 1998); see Staff of Joint Comm. on Taxation, General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in 1998 (the so-called Blue Book), at 68 (J. Comm. Print 1998). This explanation is consistent with allowing more flexibility for the Secretary to write regulations regarding allocations of income items for purposes of fixing the amount of relief from joint and several liability. This explanation is also consistent with "any determination" concerning relief from joint and several tax liability for a specific taxable year, but not consistent with an analysis of the cash or property which has been collected on said liability.

It is also noteworthy that the Senate amendments added equitable relief from joint and several liability. This is significant because equitable relief is not based on separate income computations, which were the grist of the community property waiver under former section 6013(e).

3. Use of the Word "Determination" in Section 6015

After section 6015(a), the word "determine" or "determination" appears five times in section 6015, four of which are in subsection (e). The four instances in subsection (e) refer to determinations of "relief" under section 6015 and pertain to this Court's jurisdiction to review the Secretary's final determination of that relief. The words "determination" and "determine" do not appear in subsection (g)(1), which provides that a "credit or refund shall be allowed or made to the extent attributable to the application of this section." Section 6015(g)(2) provides: "The exception contained in the preced

ing sentence shall not apply if the court determines that the individual participated meaningfully in such prior proceeding."

4. History of Section 6015(g)

In 1998, paragraph (3)(A) of section 6015(e), as amended by a technical correction in the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, Pub. L. 105-277, sec. 4002(c)(2), 112 Stat. 2681-906 (1998), provided as follows:

(3) APPLICABLE RULES.

(A) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT OR REFUND.-Except as provided in subparagraph (B), notwithstanding any other law or rule of law (other than section 6512(b), 7121, or 7122), credit or refund shall be allowed or made to the extent attributable to the application of subsection (b) or (f).

The technical corrections in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-554, sec. 313, 114 Stat. 2763A-640, 2763A-641, amended subsection (e)(3) by redesignating subsection (g) as (h) and adding new subsection (g)(1), which provides:

SEC. 6015(g). CREDITS AND REFUNDS. —

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), notwithstanding any other law or rule of law (other than section 6511, 6512(b), 7121, or 7122), credit or refund shall be allowed or made to the extent attributable to the application of this section.

The House conference report indicates that the reason for the 2000 technical correction was as follows:

Allowance of refunds.-The current placement in the statute * * * may inappropriately suggest that the provision applies only to the United States Tax Court, whereas it was intended to apply administratively and in all courts. The bill clarifies this by moving the provision to its own subsection. [H. Conf. Rept. 106-1033, at 1023 (2000), 2000-3 C.B. 304, 353.] Accordingly, the original intent of section 6015(e)(3) remains useful for our purposes. In that regard, the House report's initial explanation of the refund provisions in section 6015 is pertinent: "The Tax Court may order refunds as appropriate where it determines the spouse qualifies for relief and an overpayment exists as a result of the innocent spouse

qualifying for such relief." H. Rept. 105-364 (Part 1), supra at 61, 1998-3 C.B. at 433.

Similar to the language modifying "determination" in the current version of section 6015(e), this Court's authority under section 6015(g)(1) to refund an overpayment flows from our "determination" of relief from joint and several tax liability.

5. "[Notwithstanding any other law or rule of law"

Respondent argues that pursuant to section 6321, a lien attaches to the entire amount of the Ordlocks' community property, and thus, no refund of community property can be granted. The Federal tax lien statute does not create property rights but merely imposes consequences, federally defined, to rights created under State law. United States v. Craft, 535 U.S. at 278; United States v. Bess, 357 U.S. at 55. Accordingly, whether property can be reached by application of the Federal tax lien statute depends on what rights the taxpayer has in the property under State law. United States v. Craft, supra at 278. Petitioner counters that the "notwithstanding" provision of section 6015(g) takes precedence over all other statutes, laws, and rules of law that would conflict with or restrict a refund or credit.

The phrase "notwithstanding any other law or rule of law" should not always be read literally. Or. Natural Res. Council v. Thomas, 92 F.3d 792, 796-797 (9th Cir. 1996); E.P. Paup Co. v. Director, OWCP, 999 F.2d 1341, 1348 (9th Cir. 1993); Kee Leasing Co. v. McGahan (In re Glacier Bay), 944 F.2d 577, 582 (9th Cir. 1991); Golden Nugget, Inc. v. Am. Stock Exchange, Inc., 828 F.2d 586, 588-589 (9th Cir. 1987). If read literally here, the phrase could be applied to avoid all State law property ownership provisions in both common law and community property States, thus creating an absence of law to define the ownership of the payments for purposes of the section 6015(g) refund jurisdiction. Even if limited to community property provisions, petitioner's position leaves us with no law or resource to define the ownership of the payments made from 1985 until 2003 on the tax liabilities for the years at issue.

At this point, an excerpt from Powell v. Commissioner, 101 T.C. at 494, is especially apt: