Menu
Tax Notes logo

The IRS Loves Ambiguity, Designated Orders May 4-8 and June 1-5, 2020

Posted on July 31, 2020

The orders designated during my weeks in May and June didn’t address anything we haven’t covered before, with the exception of an order (here) referencing the Tax Court’s opinion in Lacey v. Commissioner, 153 T.C. No. 8 (2019). I started digging into the opinion to include it as part of my post, but Patrick Thomas had the same idea and did an excellent job covering it (here).

The Lacey opinion reflects the Court’s displeasure with the IRS’s use of boilerplate, ambiguous correspondence. The IRS’s use of standardized notices in many cases is understandable, however, there are times when the IRS owes a taxpayer more than a vague list of possible reasons for why it is disregarding an issue.

The Court takes issue with IRS’s use of “and/or” in whistleblower determinations in Lacey and in CDP Notices of Determination in Alber v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2020-20. I have also seen vague boilerplate responses sent in other cases (identity theft and offer in compromise examples come to mind) at a preliminary stage when IRS has decided the matter isn’t worth looking into further.

Not all cases are eligible for Tax Court review, but all taxpayers deserve to know why the IRS is not continuing to work on their case.

The IRS loves the “efficiency” of ambiguous correspondence. This is exemplified in its plan to send out notices with incorrect dates as a result of the Covid-19 shutdown (which Keith covered here). The IRS benefits from the confusion created by ambiguous correspondence because it delays or prevents taxpayers from responding in a timely or appropriate way.

The recent orders and decisions reflecting the Court’s view of ambiguous correspondence could prompt a change in IRS practices. We are at a time when everyone is imagining the ways things could be, looking at new and improved ways to operate, and resetting their expectations. The IRS desperately needs to upgrade its technology in response to Covid-19, and more generally, to finally join the rest of us in today’s world. As part of any upgrades or improvements, the IRS should consider ways that it can communicate more clearly in the responses it sends to taxpayers.

Other orders designated in May:

  • Docket No. 17614-13 and 17603-13 , Vincent J. Fumo v. CIR. Orders (here and here) granting the IRS’s motion in limine to preclude testimony from an Assistant U.S. Attorney and two revenue agents regarding the ‘manner and motives’ behind examination of petitioner’s income and excise tax liabilities.
  • Docket No. 9946-19L, Linnea Hall McManus & John McManus v. CIR. Order and decision (here) granting the IRS’s motion for summary judgement in a CDP case where petitioners did not provide requested information.

Other orders designated in June:

  • Docket No. 16492-18, Vishal Mishra and Ritu Mishra v. CIR. Order (here) granting the IRS’s motion for entry of decision in its favor, because petitioners are disputing already-conceded accuracy related penalties.
  • Docket No. 11152-18 L, Xavier Pittmon v. CIR. Order and decision (here) granting the IRS’s motion to dismiss, because the petitioner cannot contest his liability in his CDP case.  
DOCUMENT ATTRIBUTES
Copy RID