Vol. 31 No. 1 - Fall 2011

Points to Remember

Taxation

The Service Abandons Two-Year Limit to File for Equitable Innocent Spouse Relief

Carlton M. Smith

Given the Service’s court successes in its over-three-year litigation project to uphold the validity of the two-year limit it established for requesting “equitable” innocent spouse relief under section 6015(f), it came as something of a pleasant shock to see the Commissioner, on July 25, issue a notice announcing that the Service would no longer seek to enforce that limit. ...

Taxation

Cohen: Hard Case Makes (Semi) Bad Law

Steve R. Johnson

The first Justice Harlan famously cautioned that hard cases can lead to bad law. United States v. Clark, 96 U.S. 37, 49 (1878) (dissenting opinion). This aphorism captures the reality that, when confronted with litigating equities strongly favoring one party, judges tend to massage doctrine as necessary to support judgment for that party. ...

Taxation

More Mayo Please? Temporary Regulations After Mayo Foundation v. United States

Leandra Lederman* and Stephen W. Mazza

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mayo Found. for Med. Educ. & Research v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 704 (2011), helped clarify the degree of deference courts should afford Treasury regulations. It held that (1) deference under the two-step test in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc....

From the Chair

Taxation

From the Chair

William M. Paul

Early in the summer, I was struck by an op-ed piece in the New York Times captioned “Lawyers and Accountants Once Put Integrity First.” N.Y. Times, June 18, 2011. The author was Mark Everson, who was Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service from 2003 – 2007. In the op-ed, Mr. Everson criticizes lawyers and accountants generally...

Interview

Taxation

N. Jerold Cohen

Jasper L. Cummings, Jr. and Alan J.J. Swirski

N. Jerold (Jerry) Cohen is the recipient of the Tax Section’s Distinguished Service Award for 2011. Jerry is well known to Section members, having served as Chair in 1995 and 1996. He is a partner with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP in Atlanta. ...

Pro Bono Matters

Taxation

“A Chain Is Only As Strong As Its Weakest Link”

Francine J. Lipman

These are challenging times. With record unemployment and skyrocketing debt levels, many communities are suffering financially. Unfortunately, too many law students are finding themselves with a diploma in hand, but without a job. During challenging times, communities work together to provide safety nets for those members that are struggling. ...

Book Reviews

Taxation

A Practitioner’s Guide to Innocent Spouse Relief: Proven Strategies for Winning Section 6015 Tax Cases (By Robert B. Nadler)

Reviewed by Mark Westlake

Editor’s Note: The following review was published originally as the Foreword in A Practitioner’s Guide to Innocent Spouse Relief, released in April 2011. It should be noted that since the Tax Section published this book, the Service removed the two-year limit on requests for equitable relief...

Taxation

Identity Theft in Tax Administration

Robert Wunderle, Vijay Raghavan, and Susan Morgenstern

Editor’s Note: The following excerpt is taken from a chapter of the same title, which will appear in the Tax Section’s 5th Edition of Effectively Representing Your Client Before the IRS being published this fall. It is one of three new chapters added to the new edition that will address tax issues related to identity theft, disaster relief, and military service. ...

Tax Bites

Taxation

Tax Bites Sings Again

Robert S. Steinberg

Tunes including "Form over Substance," "Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off," "Until They Caught Me," "Tax Laws," and "Appeal."

Boxscore

Taxation

Boxscore

ABA Section of Taxation

Since June, 2011 the Section has coordinated the following government submissions, which can be viewed and downloaded free of charge from the Section’s website.

American Bar Association TM American Bar Association

Vol. 31 No. 1 - Fall 2011

NewsQuarterly, Vol. 31 No. 1

Points to Remember

The Service Abandons Two-Year Limit to File for Equitable Innocent Spouse Relief

Cohen: Hard Case Makes (Semi) Bad Law

More Mayo Please? Temporary Regulations After Mayo Foundation v. United States

From the Chair

From the Chair

Interview

N. Jerold Cohen

Pro Bono Matters

“A Chain Is Only As Strong As Its Weakest Link”

Book Reviews

A Practitioner’s Guide to Innocent Spouse Relief: Proven Strategies for Winning Section 6015 Tax Cases (By Robert B. Nadler)

Identity Theft in Tax Administration

Tax Bites

Tax Bites Sings Again

Boxscore

Boxscore