Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Penalties Under the Code / Procedural Issues

Koh v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-77

On June 4, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Koh v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-77). The issue before the court in Koh v. Commissioner was whether Counsel for the IRS may make an initial determination for purposes of satisfying IRC § 6751(b)(1). Personal Note I was ready to write this case off. It is only six pages long, and so imagine how pleased I was to see an actual issue other than a petitioner ignoring the IRS the plague (which it turns out, we, as Americans, don’t like to avoid all that much). Also, congrats to Judge Greaves on an auspicious start to his tax court career. Koh was Judge Greave’s first opinion (and as of the date of this post, his only opinion) since he replaced Judge Vasquez, who went to senior status in 2018, but continues to churn out the opinions. The…

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June 4, 2020
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Tax Opinions / Charitable Issues / Memorandum Opinions

Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. LLC v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-76

On June 4, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. LLC v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-76). The issue before the court in Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. LLC v. Commissioner was whether the petitioner substantiated (as required by Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-13(c)) a $200,000 charitable contribution claimed for the donation of certain water storage rights. Background to Donation in Brannan Sand & Gravel Co. LLC v. Commissioner The petitioner is in the business of extracting rock, sand, and gravel from the ground and processing those materials into asphalt. It owned 157 acres in Colorado which it mines. Silver Peaks Metropolitan District No.1 (District) is a political subdivision of Colorado, to which contributions made for exclusively public purposes are treated as charitable contributions under IRC § 170. Bromley District Water Providers, LLC, provided (as you may have guessed) water to the District.…

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June 4, 2020
Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues

Waszczuk v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-75

On June 4, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Waszczuk v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-75). The issue before the court in Waszczuk v. Commissioner was whether the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) abused its discretion by rejecting the petitioner’s whistleblower claim (which the WBO treated as two claims, when in reality it was one claim with an amendment by subsequent letter, which letter the WBO treated as a separate, but equally insufficient, claim). The Futility of Challenging the WBO’s Discretionary Authority in Waszczuk v. Commissioner There are few things that are certain in life. Death, taxes, that the Red Sox will rip out your freakin’ heart in the post season (pre-2004, and even now, I just wait for the bottom to drop out), and that the Tax Court will not overturn a decision that the IRS Whistleblower Office (WBO) makes. The WBO, if the Tax…

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June 4, 2020