alliantNational is proud to announce that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of a taxpayer couple supported by the firm, saying the IRS failed to give the couple a meaningful opportunity to volunteer certain tax records on their own.
The Court determined that the Internal Revenue Service hadn’t provided sufficient notice to Joseph and Patricia Baxter when it issued a summons to the California Supreme Court seeking various documents as a part of the agency’s National Research Program.
The leadership of alliantNational, as parties of the associated law firm Zerbe Miller Fingeret Frank & Jadav LLP, submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the couple, arguing that the tax code and legislative history required the IRS to give the couple an adequate chance to respond to its document request before contacting a third-party.
The Ninth Circuit ruled on February 26 that the IRS had violated tax code Section 7602(c)(1)’s requirement that the agency provide “reasonable notice in advance” to taxpayers, and said the taxpayers were entitled to notice that was reasonably calculated under all circumstances.
“This is the right decision for taxpayers and we’re glad the Court recognized the importance of advanced notice,” said Steven Miller, alliantgroup’s National Director of Tax.
The Court made clear in its opinion that although it couldn’t lay out the appropriate terms of notice in every circumstance, it was obvious that in this case the agency had acted unreasonably.
“This really is a huge win for taxpayers and we thank the Court for incorporating some of our arguments into their opinion,” said Dean Zerbe, alliantgroup’s National Managing Director. “This should be a wakeup call for the agency, who failed to consider the rights of the taxpayers in this case before they acted.”
A division of alliantgroup, alliantNational assists CPAs and U.S. businesses alike in navigating difficult tax matters, offering both representation and support while working with IRS and state tax officials. Comprised of a world class team of seasoned former IRS executives, congressional staffers, technical experts and experienced litigators, alliantNational provides support in a number of specialized areas, including audit and credit defense, controversy services, domestic and international tax planning and tax exempt services.
For further information visit www.alliantnationaltax.com or call the alliantNational offices at (844) 898-9782.
