Justice for All: The IRS Reimagined

52 Pages Posted: 17 May 2013

See all articles by David Herzig

David Herzig

Valparaiso University Law School; Ernst & Young

Date Written: May 15, 2013

Abstract

The ability of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to both collect the tax and enforce the initial determination of tax liability in a neutral and fair manner has been compromised by a February 2011 pronouncement issued by the Department of Justice (“Justice”) stating that the President and Justice believe that Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional and that Justice will no longer defend the statute in courts. The pronouncement results in a disparate treatment of similar taxpayers based solely on the forum of litigation. Through this lens, I examine whether it is proper for Justice and the IRS to continue to share prosecutorial powers when such results are possible. Assuming that any incremental improvement is desirable as long as does not harm one person, I conclude that Justice should have exclusive litigation authority to protect against this very result.

Keywords: IRS, DOJ, DOMA, Nixon, Kennedy, agency power, Justice

JEL Classification: K11, K34, K42, K41, K10, K20, K30, K34, H21, H26, H20, H25, E62

Suggested Citation

Herzig, David and Herzig, David, Justice for All: The IRS Reimagined (May 15, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2265677 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2265677

David Herzig (Contact Author)

Ernst & Young ( email )

710 Bausch and Lomb Pl
Rochester, NY 14604
United States

Valparaiso University Law School ( email )

656 S. Greenwich St.
Valparaiso, IN 46383-6493
United States
219-465-7809 (Phone)
219-465-7872 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.valpo.edu/law

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