Daniel E. Larkin, et ux. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

Does the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-206, 112 Stat. 685, Title III, which enacted new sections 6751 and 7491 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. §§ 6751 and 7491, require the Secretary of the Treasury to come forward with evidence of written supervisory approval in any court proceeding with respect to the liability of any individual taxpayer for penalties, rendering the written supervisory approval requirement contained in section 6751(b)(1), 26 U.S.C. § 6751(b)(1), an element of the Internal Revenue Service’s prima facie case for that penalty?

If so, may a Court of Appeals deny relief to an individual taxpayer who argued during trial the Secretary of the Treasury’s inability to sustain the penalty at issue, solely on the grounds that the taxpayer did not specifically cite section 6751(b)(1), 26 U.S.C. § 6751(b)(1), notwithstanding the Secretary of the Treasury’s failure to offer any evidence of compliance with the written supervisory approval requirement set forth in section 6751(b)(1)?