[EL] IRS Chief Counsel involvement a "bombshell"?

[Ellen Aprill]

The Office of Chief Counsel serves as the lawyer to the enforcement side of
the IRS (what we tax lawyers call the Commissioner's side).  It is the job
of the Office of Chief Counsel to provide advice when the Commissioner's
people, including the EO Division needs legal advice on difficult issues.
 Such consultation often delays the process.  Also, the Chief Counsel is a
political appointee, subject to Senate confirmation, but others in the
office, who generally stay many years, are not. The current Chief Counsel,
Bill Wilkins, a former chair of the ABA Tax Section and with many years of
experience on the Hill as well as in private practice, is highly respected
by tax lawyers on both side of the political aisle. (Full disclosure - he
is a personal friend.)

With the permission of Paul Streckfus, I quote below what Paul had to say
about Chief Counsel involvement yesterday in his EO Tax Journal
(subscription required):

*I’ve noted in these pages that Lois was a cautious bureaucrat. As such,
she must have recognized the sensitivity of these tea party cases. In these
circumstances, it was only natural that she would want to have the Office
of Chief Counsel (Counsel) involved in these cases. We’d probably be
criticizing her now if she had not gotten Counsel involved.

I have also noted in these pages that Counsel is notorious for sitting on
cases of whatever description. The slow-moving attorneys in Counsel are
more than a bottleneck -- they are the cork in the bottle. Unlike wine, EO
cases do not age well. I’ve said before Lois was not well served by the
glacial pace of attorneys in Counsel.

Lois’ caution and Counsel’s procrastination are why private letter rulings
take so long and why most attorneys have even given up seeking them. Same
for technical advice.*
*
*
* * Ellen
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Ellen P. Aprill
John E. Anderson Professor of Tax Law
Loyola Law School
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-736-1157
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