Supreme Court rules: Clarke/IRS summons case

Practical and Practice issues for Professionals who practice in the area of taxation. Moral, social and economic issues relating to taxes, including international issues, the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, state tax issues, etc. Not for "tax protestor" issues, which should be posted in the "tax protestor" forum above. The advice or opinion given herein should not be relied on for any purpose whatsoever. Also examines cookie-cutter deals that have no economic substance but exist only to generate losses, as marketed by everybody from solo practitioner tax lawyers to the major accounting firms.
Famspear
Knight Templar of the Sacred Tax
Posts: 7668
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Texas

Supreme Court rules: Clarke/IRS summons case

Post by Famspear »

Holding by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case decided on June 19, 2014:

In a court proceeding with respect to enforcement of a summons issued by the Internal Revenue Service, a bare allegation that the IRS has an improper purpose in issuing the summons does not entitle the taxpayer to examine IRS officials. The taxpayer has a right to conduct that examination “when he points to specific facts or circumstances plausibly raising an inference of bad faith.”

See United States v. Michael Clarke, U.S. Sup. Ct., Case No. 13-301 (June 19, 2014) (Justice Kagan, for a unanimous Court) (reversing a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit).
"My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line." -- David Mamet
Dr. Caligari
J.D., Miskatonic University School of Crickets
Posts: 1812
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2003 10:02 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: Supreme Court rules: Clarke/IRS summons case

Post by Dr. Caligari »

Everybody expected the 11th Circuit to be reversed, since its decision was an outlier that disagreed with every other Circuit, but today's decision reaches a middle ground that is less favorable than the IRS hoped-- the new rule is less taxpayer-friendly than the 11th Circuit, but more taxpayer-friendly than what the law was in the other circuits.
Dr. Caligari
(Du musst Caligari werden!)