2014 Federal Tax Litigation In Review

Washington, D.C.-based partner and member of the firm's Tax Group, David J. Fischer, talks with Law360 about the major high-stakes tax cases that closed in 2014. Fischer provided his viewpoints on three of the cases, including U.S. v. Clarke, which the court said taxpayers have a right to examine their IRS agents if they can point to specific facts or circumstances — including circumstantial evidence — that raise an inference of bad faith. "Tax law is like a pendulum, and right now our pendulum is swinging toward procedural fights because the IRS has changed its summons process and the Supreme Court has changed the litigation standards for looking behind an IRS summons," stated Fischer.