Vol. 61, No. 2 - Winter 2008

In Memoriam: Edward N. Delaney

Reprinted with permission from The Washington Post

Edward N. Delaney, 80, a lawyer specializing in tax law, died Feb. 11, 2008 of congestive heart failure at his home in Potomac, MD. Mr. Delaney moved to Washington in 1975 in mid-career to establish Delaney and Associates. ...

Whistleblowers and Qui Tam for Tax

Dennis J. Ventry, Jr.

In 1998, as Congress listened to sensational testimony of abuse and coercion by Service agents—nearly all of which turned out to be false or grossly exaggerated —Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) was fuming mad. ...

Deconstructing the Duty to the Tax System: Unfettering Zealous Advocacy on Behalf of Lesbian and Gay Taxpayers

Anthony C. Infanti

When we think about where a lawyer’s loyalty lies, our thoughts most naturally turn to her client. After all, a lawyer owes her client a duty to provide competent representation...

A Different Point of Venue: The Plainer Meaning of Section 7482(b)(1)

James Bamberg

It is commonly believed that an appeal from the United States Tax Court should be in the federal circuit court where the taxpayer resides. Without any thought or discussion, everyone just accepts that section 7482(b)(1) prescribes this course of action. ...

Judicial Deference to Tax Regulations: A Reconsideration in Light of National Cable, Swallows Holding, and Other Developments

Mark E. Berg

In a brief before the United States Supreme Court filed in 2007, the Justice Department took the remarkable position that the Court should deny a taxpayer’s petition for certiorari on the basis of a regulation...

Taxation

The Case for Tax Credits

Brian H. Jenn

Despite perennial calls from politicians, policy analysts, and populists for a major individual income tax overhaul that would cleanse the tax system by eliminating its eclectic collection of tax incentives and preferences...

A Critical Analysis of Glass v. Commissioner: Why Size Should Matter for Conservation Easements

Jonathan M. Burke

In Glass v. Commissioner, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Tax Court’s determination that the Glasses were entitled to a deduction for two conservation easements contributed to a conservation organization...

Lawyers Versus Auditors: Disclosure to Auditors and Potential Waiver of Work-Product Privilege in United States v. Textron

Andrew Golodny

In 2002, the Service modified its traditional policy of restraint in seeking tax accrual workpapers relating to corporate taxpayers’ potential tax liabilities on audited financial statements. ...

Can a Government Subsidize Itself? The Erosion of a Bright-Line Rule: PNC Financial Services Group v. Commissioner

Mary Kogut

The D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in PNC Financial Services Group v. Commissioner ended over 20 years of doubt regarding PNC’s claim to a foreign tax credit arising from a lending transaction with the Brazilian Central Bank. ...

MacMurray v. Commissioner: Distinguishing Between the Reasonable Cause and Good Faith Requirements of the Section 6664 Exception to Accuracy-Related Penalties

Sean Murphy

In MacMurray v. Commissioner the Tax Court held, in a summary opinion, that the taxpayer’s exclusion of income derived from a settlement constituted a substantial understatement of income. ...