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Showing posts from November, 2012

IRS Appeals Officers do not have to be independent

The US Supreme Court determined that IRS Appeals Officers do not serve judicial functions. Therefore, they are expected to be biased IRS employees rather than independent judges. This decision is not surprising because Appeals Officers are just IRS employees with additional authority to settle matters. If the taxpayer does not agree, they can spend the money and time to go to Tax Court or the US Court of Federal Claims. Unfortunately, the judicial process is expensive and is only cost-effective for larger cases. See: Tucker v. Comm., (CA DC 4/20/2012) 109 AFTR 2d 2012-1856, cert denied 11/26/2012 Thompson- Reuters full synopsis of decision: The Supreme Court has declined to review a decision of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which, affirming the Tax Court, rejected a taxpayer's contention that under the Appointments Clause of Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, the “appeals officer” who handled his collection due process (CDP) h