1 The parties agree that the Mar. 11, 1998, $2,485.97 payment in the form of levy was made from petitioner's "separate property", as defined in Cal. Family Code sec. 770(a) (West 2004). 2 The exact day was illegible. Payments applied to the Ordlocks' 1983 tax liability: THORNTON, J., concurring: I agree with the majority opinion and write to append additional views in support of it. "[D]omestic relations are preeminently matters of state law". Mansell v. Mansell, 490 U.S. 581, 587 (1989). Accordingly, "the Supreme Court has decreed that Federal law supplants community property law only where the congressional intent to accomplish such a result is clear and unequivocal." Powell v. Commissioner, 101 T.C. 489, 494 (1993) (citing Supreme Court precedents). There is no question or dispute that section 6015(a) supplants community property law for purposes of determining eligibility for relief from joint and several liability. But as the majority opinion concludes, there is no "clear and unequivocal" indication that Congress intended to go further (as urged by petitioner and the dissenters) and supplant community property law that would otherwise permit a creditor (here, the Internal Revenue Service) to reach community assets and apply them to a debt owed by one spouse alone (here, Mr. Ordlock). Rather, the legislative history strongly suggests that Congress did not intend to supplant community property law in this manner. The predecessor of section 6015 was section 6013(e), enacted in the Act of Jan. 12, 1971, Pub. L. 91-679, sec. 1, 84 Stat. 2063. Under section 6013(e), in certain circumstances a requesting spouse could be eligible for relief from tax liability with respect to erroneously omitted gross income attributable to the other spouse. Section 6013(e)(2)(A) provided that for this purpose, "the determination of the spouse to whom items of gross income (other than gross income from property) are attributable shall be made without regard to community property laws". The legislative history makes clear that the intended effect of this provision was to disregard community property for purposes of determining the requesting spouse's eligibility for relief.1 1 The House and Senate reports on the 1971 legislation state identically: |