III. Taxpayer Bill of Rights 3

A. Burden of Proof

Present Law

Under present law, a rebuttable presumption exists that the Commissioner's determination of tax liability is correct. "This presumption in favor of the Commissioner is a procedural device that requires the plaintiff to go forward with prima facie evidence to support a finding contrary to the Commissioner's determination. Once this procedural burden is satisfied, the taxpayer must still carry the ultimate burden of proof or persuasion on the merits. Thus, the plaintiff not only has the burden of proof of establishing that the Commissioner's determination was incorrect, but also of establishing the merit of its claims by a preponderance of the evidence".

The general rebuttable presumption that the Commissioner's determination of tax liability is correct is a fundamental element of the structure of the Internal Revenue Code. Although this presumption is judicially based, rather than legislatively based, there is considerable evidence that the presumption has been repeatedly considered and approved by the Congress. This is the case because the Internal Revenue Code contains a number of civil provisions that explicitly place the burden of proof on the Commissioner in specifically designated circumstances. The Congress would have enacted these provisions only if it recognized and approved of the general rule of presumptive correctness of the Commissioner's determination. A list of these civil provisions follows.

(1) Fraud.--Any proceeding involving the issue of whether the taxpayer has been guilty of fraud with intent to evade tax (Secs. 7454(a) and 7422(e)).

(2) Required reasonable verification of information returns.--In any court proceeding, if a taxpayer asserts a reasonable dispute with respect to any item of income reported on an information returned filed with the Secretary by a third party and the taxpayer has fully cooperated with the Secretary (including providing, within a reasonable period of time, access to and inspection of all witnesses, information, and documents within the control of the taxpayer as reasonably requested by the Secretary), the Secretary has the burden of producing reasonable and probative information concerning such deficiency in addition to such information return (Sec. 6201(d)).

(3) Foundation managers.--Any proceeding involving the issue of whether a foundation manager has knowingly participated in prohibited transactions (Sec. 7454(b)).

(4) Transferee liability.--Any proceeding in the Tax Court to show that a petitioner is liable as a transferee of property of a taxpayer (Sec. 6902(a)).

(5) Review of jeopardy levy or assessment procedures.--Any proceeding to review the reasonableness of a jeopardy levy or jeopardy assessment (Sec. 7429(g)(1)).

(6) Property transferred in connection with performance of services.--In the case of property subject to a restriction that by its terms will never lapse and that allows the transferee to sell only at a price determined under a formula, the price is deemed to be fair market value unless established to the contrary by the Secretary (Sec. 83(d)(1)).

(7) Illegal bribes, kickbacks, and other payments.--As to whether a payment constitutes an illegal bribe, illegal kickback, or other illegal payment (Sec. 162(c)(1) and (2)).

(8) Golden parachute payments.--As to whether a payment is a parachute payment on account of a violation of any generally enforced securities laws or regulations (Sec. 280G(b)(2)(B)).

(9) Unreasonable accumulation of earnings and profits.--In any Tax Court proceeding as to whether earnings and profits have been permitted to accumulate beyond the reasonable needs of the business, provided that the Commissioner has not fulfilled specified procedural requirements (Sec. 534).

(10) Expatriation.--As to whether it is reasonable to believe that an individual's loss of citizenship would result in a substantial reduction in the individual's income taxes or transfer taxes (Secs. 877(e), 2107(e), 2501(a)(4)).

(11) Public inspection of written determinations.--In any proceeding seeking additional disclosure of information (Sec. 6110(f)(4)(A)).

(12) Penalties for promoting abusive tax shelters, aiding and abetting the understatement of tax liability, and filing a frivolous income return.--As to whether the person is liable for the penalty (Sec. 6703(a)).

(13) Income tax return preparers' penalty.--As to whether a preparer has willfully attempted to understate tax liability (Sec. 7427).

(14) Status as employees.--As to whether individuals are employees for purposes of employment taxes (pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978).

Description of Proposal

The proposal would provide that the Secretary shall have the burden of proof in any court proceeding with respect to a factual issue if the taxpayer introduces credible evidence with respect to the factual issue relevant to ascertaining the taxpayer's income tax liability. Four conditions apply. First, the taxpayer must comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations issued thereunder to substantiate any item (as under present law). Second, the taxpayer must maintain records (as under present law). Third, the taxpayer must cooperate with reasonable requests by the Secretary for meetings, interviews, witnesses, information, and documents. Fourth, taxpayers other than individuals must meet the net worth limitations that apply for awarding attorney's fees (accordingly, no net worth limitation would be applicable to individuals).

The proposal would also provide that in any instance in which the Secretary uses arbitrary statistics to determine the taxpayer's income (such as average income for the area in which the taxpayer lives), the burden of proof would be on the Secretary with respect to that issue.

Finally, the proposal would provide that, in any court proceeding, the Secretary must initially come forward with evidence that it is appropriate to apply a particular penalty to the taxpayer before the court can impose the penalty.

Effective Date

The proposal would apply to court proceedings arising in connection with examinations commencing after the date of enactment.

B. Proceedings by Taxpayers

1. Expansion of authority to award costs and certain fees

Present Law

Any person who substantially prevails in any action by or against the United States in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax, interest, or penalty may be awarded reasonable administrative costs incurred before the IRS and reasonable litigation costs incurred in connection with any court proceeding. Reasonable administrative costs are defined as (1) any administrative fees or similar charges imposed by the IRS and (2) expenses, costs and fees related to attorneys, expert witnesses, and studies or analyses necessary for preparation of the case, to the extent that such costs are incurred before earlier of the date of the notice of decision by IRS Appeals or the notice of deficiency (Sec. 7430(c)(2)). Net worth limitations apply.

Reasonable litigation costs include reasonable fees paid or incurred for the services of attorneys, except that the attorney's fees will not be reimbursed at a rate in excess of $110 per hour (indexed for inflation) unless the court determines that a special factor, such as the limited availability of qualified attorneys for the proceeding, justifies a higher rate.

Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) provides a procedure under which a party may recover costs if the party's offer for judgment was rejected and the subsequent court judgment was less favorable to the opposing party than the offer. The offering party's costs are limited to the costs (excluding attorney's fees) incurred after the offer was made. The FRCP generally apply to tax litigation in the district courts and the United States Court of Federal Claims.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would:

(1) move the point in time after which reasonable administrative costs can be awarded to the date on which the first letter of proposed deficiency which allows the taxpayer an opportunity for administrative review in the IRS Office of Appeals is sent;

(2) permit awards of reasonable attorney's fees at the prevailing rate for the locality;

(3) permit the award of attorney's fees to specified persons who represent for no more than a nominal fee a taxpayer who is a prevailing party;

(4) provide that in determining whether the position of the United States was substantially justified, the court shall take into account whether the United States has lost in other courts of appeal on substantially similar issues; and

(5) provide that if a taxpayer makes an offer after the taxpayer has a right to administrative review in the IRS Office of Appeals, the IRS rejects the offer, and later the IRS obtains a judgment against the taxpayer in an amount that is equal to or less than the taxpayer's offer for the amount of the tax liability (excluding interest), reasonable costs and attorney's fees from the date of the offer would be awarded.

The above awards would apply subject to the same net worth limitations as under present law.

Effective Date

The proposal would apply to eligible costs and services incurred more than 180 days after the date of enactment.