Non-Existent Transparency of the thieving I.R.S.

To the Editor:

There is another side to your report about how the Internal Revenue Service is about to require large corporations to disclose their uncertain tax positions (“Uncovering Tax Tactics, With Help,” Business Day, Aug. 25).

The I.R.S. considers its effort a needed move toward transparency. But at the I.R.S., transparency means one thing for taxpayers and another for itself.

Years of litigation under the Freedom of Information Act by the organization I head show how hard the I.R.S. has fought to keep its rulings on how it applies tax laws in particular cases a secret.

The I.R.S. commissioner, Douglas H. Shulman, says he hopes the new rules will encourage companies to more readily seek I.R.S. rulings about the legality of their tax positions. Fine. But will the I.R.S. make its rulings public so that the rest of us can see how it is applying the tax law?

Sadly, the answer is probably no. That’s the history of I.R.S. transparency.

Christopher Bergin
President and Publisher
Tax Analysts

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Non-Existent Transparency of the thieving I.R.S.

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