The New York State Bar Association Tax Section has released a letter and report sent to the Treasury Department and the IRS on The Authority of the Treasury Department and the IRS to Issue Regulations Under the IRC:

The Report discusses grants of authority given by Congress to the Treasury Department and the IRS to promulgae regulations under the Code, describes some of the problems taxpayers and the courts have had in interpreting these grants, and contains a brief summary of the degree of deference given by courts to these grants of regulatory authority.  The Report then proposes model language to be used in the Code in places where Congress wishes to delegate regulatory authority to the Treasury Department and the IRS.