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TAX RESEARCH (1 of 2)

TAX RESEARCH (1 of 2). Overview of tax research Steps in the tax research process Importance of facts to the tax consequences Sources of tax law Tax services . TAX RESEARCH (2 of 2). Citators Computers as a research tool Statements on standards for tax services.

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TAX RESEARCH (1 of 2)

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  1. ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  2. TAX RESEARCH(1 of 2) • Overview of tax research • Steps in the tax research process • Importance of facts to the tax consequences • Sources of tax law • Tax services ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  3. TAX RESEARCH(2 of 2) • Citators • Computers as a research tool • Statements on standards for tax services ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  4. Overview of Tax Research(1 of 2) • Close-fact or tax compliance • Facts already occurred • Discovery of tax consequences • Proper disclosure ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  5. Overview of Tax Research(2 of 2) • Open-fact or tax-planning • Before structuring or concluding a transaction • Minimization of taxes • Careful compliance permits legal avoidance of taxation ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  6. Steps in the Tax Research Process(1 of 2) • Determine the facts • Identify the issues (questions) • Locate applicable authorities • Evaluate authorities • Choose which to follow when authorities conflict ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  7. Steps in the Tax Research Process(2 of 2) • Analyze facts in terms of applicable authorities • Communicate conclusions and recommendations to client ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  8. Importance of the Facts to the Tax Consequences • Ambiguous situations (gray areas) • Facts are clear but the law is not • Law is clear but the facts are not • Advance planning permits facts to develop that produce favorable tax consequences ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  9. Sources of Tax Law(1 of 2) • Legislative process • Internal Revenue Code • Treasury Regulations • Administrative pronouncements • Judicial decisions • Tax treaties • Tax periodicals ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  10. Legislative Process • House Ways and Means Committee • Voted on by full House • Senate Finance Committee • Voted on by full Senate • Conference Committee • Voted by both full House and Senate • Signed or vetoed by President • Override veto by 2/3 vote by both houses ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  11. Internal Revenue Code (IRC) • Title 26 of the United States Code enacted by Congress • Organization • Title • Subtitle • Chapter • Subchapter - Part - Subpart - Section ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  12. Treasury Regulations(1 of 3) • Treasury Dept. delegates authority to IRS to promulgate Treas. Regs. • Types of Treasury Regulations • Proposed: no authoritative weight • Temporary • Provide immediate guidance • Same authority as Final Regs. • Final ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  13. Treasury Regulations(2 of 3) • Interpretative regulations • Interpret related Code section • Less authority than IRC • Legislative regulations • Almost the same authority as IRC • Legislative reenactment doctrine ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  14. Treasury Regulations(3 of 3) • 1.165-5 • 1 – Income tax • 165 – IRC citation • 5 – 5th regulation • Subject matter • 1 – Income tax • 20 – Estate tax • 25 – Gift tax • 301 – Admin/procedural matters • 601 – Procedural rules ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  15. Administrative Pronouncements(1 of 3) • Revenue Rulings • More specific than Regs. • Less authority than Regs. • Revenue Procedures • IRS guidance on procedural matters ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  16. Administrative Pronouncements(2 of 3) • Citation of Revenue Rulings and Procedures • Rev. Rul. (or Proc.) 97-4, 1997-1 C.B. 5 • 4th Rev. Ruling of 1997 • In Cumulative Bulletin 1997-1 on p. 5 ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  17. Administrative Pronouncements(3 of 3) • Letter Rulings • Reply to specific taxpayer question • Only authority for specific taxpayer • Other interpretations • Technical Advice Memoranda • Information releases • Announcements and notices ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  18. Judicial Decisions • Overview of court system • U.S. Tax Court • U.S. District Courts • U.S. Court of Federal Claims • U.S. Supreme court • Precedential value of various decisions ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  19. Overview of Courts ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  20. Tax Court(1 of 3) • Taxpayer does not pay deficiency before litigating case • No jury trial available • Regular and Memorandum decisions • Small Cases Procedure • Acquiescence policy ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  21. Tax Court(2 of 3) • Regular decisions • First time court hears case • Memo decisions • Factual variations of previous cases • Small cases procedure • Cases of <$50,000 eligible • Less formal than regular tax court ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  22. Tax Court(3 of 3) • Acquiescence policy • IRS announces whether or not it agrees with Tax Court decisions ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  23. U.S. District Courts • May request a jury trial • Must pay deficiency first • Unreported decisions • Decisions not officially reported • Published by RIA and CCH ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  24. U.S. Court of Federal Claims • No jury trial • Must pay deficiency first • Decisions appealable to Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  25. Courts of Appeals • Losing party at trial level may appeal decision to appellate court • Circuit Courts of Appeals • Appeals from Tax Court & district courts • Based upon geography • Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit • Appeals from U.S. Court of Federal Claims ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  26. Supreme Court • Very few tax cases are heard • Hears cases when • Circuit courts are divided or • Issue of great importance • Same authority as IRC ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  27. Precedential Value of Decisions ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  28. Tax Services(1 of 2) • Annotated services • Organized by IRC section • United States Tax Reporter by RIA • Standard Federal Tax Reporter by CCH ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  29. Tax Services(2 of 2) • Topical services organized by topic • Federal Tax Coordinator 2d by RIA • Law of Federal Income Taxation (Mertens) by West Group • Tax Management Portfolios by BNA • CCH Federal Tax Service by CCH ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  30. Citators • History of the case • List of other authorities that have cited the case in question • Figure C1-5 summarizes how to use a citator as part of the research process • CCH Citator • RIA Citator 2nd Series ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  31. Computers as a Research Tool • Computerized sources • No findings list • Cross referencing facilitated by hyperlinks • No cumulative supplements • New developments integrated into main text • Primary sources accessible from explanatory paragraphs via hyperlinks • Citator symbols explicitly spelled out ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  32. Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTSs) • Issued by AICPA • Not legally enforceable • May be cited in a negligence lawsuit as “standard of care” for tax practitioners • Professionally enforceable by AICPA • Violations could result in suspension or loss of license • See Appendix E ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

  33. ©2008 Prentice Hall, Inc.

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