United States Ninth Circuit

A tax court's determination that wife is ineligible for a refund under 26 U.S.C. section 6015 for payments on her husband's tax debt paid from their community property is affirmed, as nothing in section 6015 clearly preempts California community property law with respect to an innocent spouse's entitlement to a refund for a community property payment on the non-innocent spouse's federal income tax liability.

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/09/2008
• Decided 07/24/2008
• Published 07/24/2008

Judges

• PREGERSON, Circuit Judge:, Before:  HARRY PREGERSON, D.W. NELSON, and FERDINAND F. FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Clayton J. Vreeland, Vreeland Law Firm, Inc., Los Angeles, CA, for the petitioner-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Teresa E. McLaughlin and Rachel I. Wollitzer, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the respondent-appellee.