J.B. v. United States

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's order quashing the IRS's subpoena to the California Supreme Court that sought documents in connection with a tax audit. The panel held that "reasonable notice in advance" means notice reasonably calculated, under all the relevant circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the possibility that the IRS may contact third parties, and that affords interested parties a meaningful opportunity to resolve issues and volunteer information before third-party contacts are made. Reviewing the totality of the circumstances in this case, the panel held that Publication 1 did not provide taxpayers with the requisite reasonable advance notice. The panel explained that a reasonable notice must provide the taxpayer with a meaningful opportunity to volunteer records on his own, so that third-party contacts may be avoided if the taxpayer complies with the IRS's demand. View "J.B. v. United States" on Justia Law