Or At Least No More Than 25 Questions

So says IRS, unless it’s to do with the deficiency specifically or to advance the Tax Court case. General objections to taxing authority do neither. So STJ Panuthos issues a protective order in favor of IRS in Nia Karan Young, Docket No. 1284-12. You can’t quote this, of course, but it’s an example of how interrogatories and requests for admission should be served and filed. And there were no decisions out of Tax Court today.

Nia’s request for admissions, she said,  “focused on the legitimate legal issue of how the statutes of the IRC actually make an identifiable declaration that a specific person or group of persons are plainly and clearly made LIABILE [sic] for the payment of the tax at issue”. Order, at p. 1. She also asked that she be permitted to reduce her list of interrogatories.

Take it away, STJ Panuthos: “Rule 90(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, requires that a party making a request for admissions ‘shall simultaneously serve a copy thereof on the other party and file the original with proof of service with the Court.’ Petitioner in this case has failed to file her original request for admissions with the Court as of the date of this order. Furthermore, the requests are generally directed at the Federal government’s authority to tax and do not appear to advance the development of the case.

“Petitioner’s interrogatories to respondent exceed 25 questions according to Rule 71(a), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Additionally, pursuant to Rule 70(a)(2), petitioner served petitioner’s interrogatories to respondent before the expiration of 30 days after joinder of issue. See Rule 38, Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. Furthermore, the interrogatories are not simple questions such as those contemplated by Rule 71 and are generally directed at the Federal Government’s taxing authority. See, e.g., Roat v. Commissioner, 847 F.2d 1379, 1382-1383 (9th Cir. 1988) (upholding this Court’s granting of a protective order against discovery where the taxpayers propounded interrogatories, dealing mainly with the Government’s authority to tax, to which a response would have been ‘onerous and pointless’, and made no effort to consult informally).” Order, at p. 1.

STJ Panuthos warns Nia than any more of these shenanigans will result in a Section 6673(a)(1) hit to her wallet.

Takeaway- If questions arise, try informally. And if all else fails, follow the rules.