Cir

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

BAKERSFIELD ENERGY PARTNERS, 

LP, ROBERT SHORE, STEVEN FISHER,

GREGORY MILES, SCOTT MCMILLAN,

PARTNERS OTHER THAN THE TAX No. 07-74275

MATTERS PARTNERS,

Petitioners-Appellees,  Tax Ct. No. 4204- 06 v. OPINION

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL

REVENUE,

Respondent-Appellant.  Appeal from a Decision of the United States Tax Court

Argued and Submitted February 9, 2009—Pasadena, California

Filed June 17, 2009

Before: Andrew J. Kleinfeld, Carlos T. Bea, and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Ikuta

7197 7200 BAKERSFIELD ENERGY PARTNERS v. CIR

COUNSEL

Steven R. Mather, Beverly Hills, California, for the petitioners-appellees.

Joan I. Oppenheimer, Washington, D.C., for the respondent- appellant.

OPINION

IKUTA, Circuit Judge:

The IRS generally has three years after a return is filed to assess a tax deficiency, but it has six years to do so when the return “omits from gross income an amount properly includ- ible therein which is in excess of 25 percent of the amount of gross income stated in the return.” 26 U.S.C. § 6501(a),…