In Lamprecht v. Commissioner, ___ F.4th ___ (D.C.
Cir. 4/23/24), D.C. Cir. here
and GS here [to come], the Court affirmed the Tax Court in Lamprecht v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-91, here. See Tax Court Sustains
Accuracy-Related Penalty for Offshore Accounts, Rejecting Taxpayer's QAR,
Statute of Limitations, and § 6751(b) Arguments (Federal Tax Procedure Blog
9/1/22), here.
In so doing, the Court (Judge Walker) steps through the arguments and the
resolution in a crisp straightforward opinion.
The background discussed in the opinion is that the IRS issued a John Doe Summons to UBS in 2008 (which essentially set off the IRS and DOJ foreign account initiative). UBS did not immediately reply with full and complete response. As a result, the civil statute of limitations for persons within the scope of the summons (U.S. person account holders) was suspended and did not pick up until the summons was resolved. Suspension of Statute of Limitations From the UBS John Doe Summons (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 1/26/14), here.
The opinion holds in the Court’s outline format:
I. The IRS Complied with 26 U.S.C. § 6751(b)(1)
A. It Doesn’t Matter When (or Whether) a Supervised
Tax Examiner Signs the Approval Required by
§ 6751(b)(1)’B. The IRS May Use a Form 5345-D to Comply with
§ 6751(b)(1)C. The Tax Court’s Refusal to Exclude the Forms 5345-D
from Evidence Was Not an Abuse of DiscretionII. The Lamprechts’ Corrected Returns Did Not Protect
Them from Penalties [QAR Issue]A. The [UBS] Summons Was Legal
B. The Summons Relates to a Benefit Claimed on the
Lamprechts’ Original Tax ReturnsIII. The Penalty Assessments Were Not Too Late
A. The [UBS] Summons Was Not Resolved in August 2009
B. The [UBS] Summons Was Legal (Again)