A Residual Damages Right Against the IRS: A Cure Worse than the Disease

Tax scholarship commonly has emphasized the substantive rules of tax liability, according less than due attention to tax procedure. Recently, however, this imbalance has been partly redressed as a result of the taxpayer rights movement. The major legislative products of the movement have been the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBORl) in 1988, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 (TBOR2) in 1996,and the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TBOR3) in 1998. Congress currently is considering a fourth installment in the series. These measures – especially TBOR3 – have provoked considerable useful commentary from both practitioners and academics. Nonetheless, much work remains to be done in analyzing the taxpayer rights phenomenon. Recently, in these pages, Professor Leandra Lederman made another contribution to the effort. Tax procedure scholarship has frequently been graced by Professor Lederman\u27s work, and her stimulating articles always are welcome. Unfortunately, I am compelled to register doubts as to the proposal offered in her recent article