Nicholas Robinson (LL.M. (Tax) 2008, Miami) has published Patenting the Tax Code: Monopolizing Basic Tax Strategy, 5 Buff. Intell. Prop. L.J. 50 (2007). Here is the Introduction

In this paper I will discuss the new trend of patenting tax strategies and the ramifications therefrom. The paper will consist of five parts: an introduction where I generally go over the nature of the tax system in the United States; a discussion of business method patents and the consequences of patenting tax strategies; a case study of the first tax patent to be contested; an overview of the possible reconciliatory actions that the government is considering in addressing and possibly correcting the issue; and, finally, a conclusion where I argue that tax strategies probably are not patentable in the first place and even if they do slip through the system they should not be patented as a matter of public policy.