ABA Voices Concern Over IRS Proposals That Could Threaten Attorney-Client Privilege
The ABA is voicing concerns over several announced Internal Revenue Service proposals that it fears could undermine the protections afforded by the attorney client privilege and attorney work product doctrine.
Those concerns were detailed in a letter (PDF) to the agency Friday by Thomas Susman, director of the ABA’s governmental liaison office.
The announced proposals would require disclosure of uncertain tax positions through the required filing of a Schedule UTP by certain business taxpayers.
The ABA believes the proposals would require taxpayers to identify information that inherently is based on the advice of counsel and tax preparers and to share the mental impressions of their legal and tax advisors, according to the letter. Such requirements are directly contrary to the attorney client privilege and work product doctrine protections recognized in several U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the letter says.
“Not only would the disclosure proposals in the announcements require taxpayers to share this protected information with the (IRS), a potential adversary, but they could expose taxpayers to total loss of the protections through broader subject-matter waiver as a result of such disclosure,” Susman wrote.
The ABA is urging the IRS to withdraw the announced disclosure proposals and instead rely on existing methods of obtaining such information.
