03.04 Authoritative Hierarchy Flashcards
What is the tax rules hierarchy?
IRC (binding on IRS) > Treasury Regulations (binding on IRS) > Internal Revenue Bulletin (binding on IRS) > Written Determinations (binding on IRS to specific taxpayer only) > Other IRS publications and information (not binding on IRS)
What is primary authority?
Primary authority consists of the original source of the law. This comes from each of the three branches of the federal government.
What is secondary authority?
Secondary authority is commentary on tax law, such as treatises, journals, and commentaries provided by editorial services.
What are the three types of primary authority?
Legislative (statutory) authority
Administrative authority
Judicial authority
What is legislative authority?
Tax law generated by the legislative branch consists of statutory authority from Congress. Sources of statutory authority include and are weighted from highest source in the following order: U.S. Constitution, IRC, Treaties, Committee reports.
What is administrative authority?
Administrative authority are the official sources of law generated by the Treasury Department and IRS. The most common primary sources are: treasury regulations, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, private letter rulings, and technical advice memos.
What are the classifications of treasury regulations?
Legislative, interpretative, and procedural. They can also be classified as proposed, temporary, and final.
What are legislative regulations?
These regulations have almost as much weight as the IRC, since Congress has authorized the Treasury to develop regulations dealing with a specific issue.
What are interpretative regulations?
These regulations are written under the general mandate given to the Treasury to develop regulations to interpret the laws legislated by Congress.
What are procedural regulations?
These regulations apply to procedural issues, such as the information required to be submitted, the process for submission, etc.
What is a proposed regulation?
Regulations must be issued as proposed regulations for at least 30 days before becoming final. Proposed regulations do not have the effect of law, but they do provide an indication of the IRS’s view on a tax issue.
What is a temporary regualtion?
These regulations do have the effect of law but only for three years.
What is a final regulation?
Proposed or temporary regulations can later be issued as final regulations, which have the effect of law until revoked.
What is judicial authority?
The weighting of a judicial decision depends on the level of the court, legal residence of the taxpayer, whether the IRS has acquiesced to the decision, the date of the decision, and whether later decisions have concurred with the opinion.
