Frederic P. Holbrook, Trustee in Bankruptcy of the Estate of Mitchell H. Hewitt, Bunkrupt v. United States

On November 23, 1948 and January 1, 1949, Internal Revenue taxes were seasonably assessed by the United States against Mitchell H. Hewitt, subsequently a bankrupt. These taxes had not yet been collected when bankruptcy was adjudicated on October 1, 1957, and a claim was thereafter made by the government upon the bankrupt’s estate. The Referee disallowed the claim but was reversed on review by the District Court. The trustee in bankruptcy appeals from the District Court’s decision.

Allowance or disallowance of appellee’s claim depends upon the validity of a tax collection waiver signed and delivered by the bankrupt on July 22, 1954, extending the time for collection of his tax liabilities until December 31, 1960. We are governed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1939, see 1954 I.R.C. § 7851(a)(6), 26 U.S.C.A. § 7851 (a) (6). The pertinent provision thereof reads as follows:

Appellant argues that the Commissioner’s agreement in writing to a taxpayer’s waiver postponing the deadline for collection of assessed taxes is a prerequisite to its validity under the Code provision above quoted, and that neither the Commissioner nor anyone acting on his behalf expressed written agreement to…