In March I got a notice of underpayment of my 2009 taxes. I filled out a form, agreeing with part, disagreeing with part, and paid what I thought I should. In May I got a letter agreeing with part of my disagreement. I sent a letter explaining why I thought that the IRS was mistaken. In August I got the same letter as in May, with no reference to my argument. So I re-sent the letter. Now I got a Notice of Deficiency.
I tried calling the numbers listed for the Taxpayer Advocate. I get barely intelligible recordings. I held on for a long time, but as I am calling internationally, I finally gave up.
Should I write to the Taxpayer Advocate asking why my arguments were not answered? Or should I just pay up and then file an amended return?