Caleb Smith, Associate Clinical Professor and the Director of the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, has made available for download his article “Making the IRS Answer to Taxpayer Inquiries…By Making the IRS Reasonably Inquire (Part Two)”, published on the Procedurally Taxing blog. The abstract is as follows:
Lately I’ve been obsessing over how to remedy “bad answers” from the IRS). In my last post, I detailed how IRS counsel’s failure to “reasonably inquire” under Rule 33before filing a “bad answer” may make them more susceptible to awards of litigation costs under IRC § 7430. Of course, litigation costs come at the end of the ligation process, so that might not seem like a useful remedy for more quickly resolving a case when the IRS files a “bad answer.”
Fortunately, the consequences for failing to reasonably inquire before filing an answer include more than just the heightened possibility of litigation costs. Indeed, far more immediate consequences may ensue. Read on for two more examples, from two more Tax Court orders.
Posted by Marin Larkin, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
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