Tax Law Commons^™

Institutional Posture: A Measure For Good Faith In An Irs Summons Enforcement Proceeding, Monice Rosenbaum

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The Internal Revenue Service may use its powers under section 7602 of the Internal Revenue Code to issue administrative summonses to taxpayers and third parties to verify the content of a filed tax return or to prepare a return where none has been filed. Frequent disputes arise between the IRS and taxpayers who claim that its agents have overstepped their section 7602 power. The Supreme Court attempted to clarify the issues surrounding these disputes in United States v. LaSalle National Bank. The Court formulated a two prong test and created an "institutional posture" standard to measure the IRS's good faith. …