Expedited Challenges to Economic Substance: Erosion of Protections for Taxpayers and Problems for the IRS
This article does the following:
- explains the economic substance doctrine and the reasons why Congress codified it,
- summarizes IRS guidance over the following decade,
- reviews the recent mandate authorizing Revenue Agents to challenge economic substance without first obtaining executive approval,
- identifies sources demonstrating that attacks on economic substance are on the rise, and
- highlights obstacles the IRS will encounter if it continues down this path.
About Hale E. Sheppard
HALE E. SHEPPARD, Esq. (B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M., LL.M.T.) is a Shareholder in the Tax Controversy Section of Chamberlain Hrdlicka and Chair of the International Tax Group.
HALE E. SHEPPARD, Esq. (B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M., LL.M.T.) is a Shareholder in the Tax Controversy Section of Chamberlain Hrdlicka and Chair of the International Tax Group.