The Rescission Doctrine: Everything Old Is New Again

Abstract

This paper considers rescissions — attempts by parties to undo a transaction and have that undoing respected for federal tax purposes. Some commentators have questioned the legal basis for the rescission doctrine as applied by the Internal Revenue Service, and others have argued for expansion or restriction of the doctrine. This paper traces the development of the rescission doctrine, examines a critical article that argues that there is no legal precedent that truly supports the rescission doctrine as it is currently applied by the Internal Revenue Service, considers whether there exists sufficient legal authority for the doctrine as applied by the Internal Service, and briefly considers alternatives.

Keywords: Rescission

JEL Classification: K34, H20