1. Why Is Code Sec. 6751(b)(1) So Controversial?
- Author
-
Chen, Aishun
- Subjects
Exceptions (Law) -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Supervision of employees -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Tax penalties -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Tax assessment -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Tax compromises -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Notice (Law) -- Laws, regulations and rules ,Graev v. Commissioner (149 T.C. No. 23 (2017)) ,Chai v. Commissioner (851 F.3d 190 (2d Cir. 2017)) ,Clay v. Commissioner (152 T.C. No. 13 (2019)) ,United States. Internal Revenue Service -- Public opinion -- Management ,Government regulation ,Company business management ,Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 ,Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C. 6751(b)(1)) - Abstract
I. Introduction Throughout the 1990s, taxpayers were very dissatisfied with the Internal Revenue Service's ("IRS'") poor quality of service, and "Congress grew increasingly frustrated with the IRS due to its [...], In 2022, two Tax Court decisions in Code Sec. 6751(b)(1) cases were reversed by the Circuit Courts, which caused consternation among some tax professionals, practitioners, and the Tax Court. One was the Tax Court decision in Laidlaw's Harley Davidson Sales Inc. v. Commissioner, (1) which was reversed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the IRS in March 2022. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals followed suit and reversed the Tax Court decision in Kroner v. Commissioner (2) in September 2022 in favor of the IRS. Code Sec. 6751(b)(1) states that "No penalty under this title shall be assessed unless the initial determination of such assessment is personally approved (in writing) by the immediate supervisor of the individual making such determination or such higher level official as the Secretary may designate." (3) The statute indicates who must approve and how that approval must be made, but the statute does not specify when that approval must be obtained, nor does the statute define what "the initial determination of such assessment" means. This ambiguity in Statute language has been the crux of disputes in Code Sec. 6751(b) cases because taxpayers, the IRS, and judges have different interpretations of Code Sec. 6751(b)(1). These two circuit courts' interpretations of Code Sec. 6751(b)(1) are a sharp departure from the Code Sec. 6751(b) jurisprudence that the Tax Court has developed in the past few years and have created chaos at the Tax Court. The focus of this article is to discuss the purpose of Code Sec. 6751(b)(1), examine how courts interpret and apply Code Sec. 6751(b)(1) in various cases, and analyze the controversies among the interpretations and judgments.
- Published
- 2023