Page:Polselli v. IRS.pdf/11

Rh the collection of … an assessment made or judgment rendered against” the delinquent taxpayer. §7609(c)(2)(D)(i). Clause (ii) exempts from notice any summons “issued in aid of the collection of … the liability at law or in equity of any transferee or fiduciary of any person referred to in clause (i).” §7609(c)(2)(D)(ii). We ordinarily aim to “giv[e] effect to every clause and word of a statute.” Microsoft Corp. v. i4i L. P., 564 U. S. 91, 106 (2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). If clause (i) already exempts from notice every summons that helps the IRS collect an “assessment” against a delinquent taxpayer, petitioners argue, there would be no work left for clause (ii) to do. Adding a “legal interest” requirement, on the other hand, would cabin the scope of clause (i), leaving some purpose for clause (ii).

But this argument overlooks two differences between clause (i) and clause (ii). First, clause (i) is applicable upon an assessment, while clause (ii) is applicable upon a finding of liability. Under the Code, a taxpayer’s “liability” for unpaid taxes arises before the IRS makes an official “assessment” of what the delinquent taxpayer owes. See §6203 (“The assessment shall be made by recording the liability of the taxpayer … .”); see also United States v. Galletti, 541 U. S. 114, 122 (2004) (assessment refers to “the calculation or recording of a tax liability”). Although an assessment may “trigge[r] levy and collection efforts,” Hibbs, 542 U. S., at 101, the Code does not require in all cases that the IRS make a formal assessment before attempting to collect an outstanding tax liability. See §§§ [sic]6501(c)(1)–(3) (authorizing the IRS to bring “a proceeding in court for collection of [a] tax … without assessment” in situations involving false returns, willful attempts to evade taxes, and failures to file a return).

Second, petitioners’ argument overlooks that clause (i) and clause (ii) are addressed to different entities. Clause (i) concerns assessments or judgments against a taxpayer—“the person with respect to whose liability the summons is