Following up on last week's post, Tax Court Refuses to Follow 7th Circuit, Again Invalidates Innocent Spouse Reg (Sept. 23, 2010):  Patrick J. Smith (Ivins, Phillips & Barker, Washington, D.C.), Gaps in the Seventh Circuit's Reasoning in Lantz, 128 Tax Notes 1375 (Sept. 27, 2010):

Last year the Tax Court invalidated an IRS regulation [Reg. § 1.6015-5(b)(1)] that imposed a two-year time limit on claims for equitable innocent spouse relief [I.R.C. § 6015(f)], based on the rationale that Congress acted intentionally when it imposed the two-year time limit on other types of innocent spouse relief but not on equitable claims for relief. [Lantz v. Commissioner, 132 T.C. No. 8 (Apr. 7, 2009).]  The Seventh Circuit reversed the Tax Court on this issue. [Lantz v. Commissioner, 607 F.3d 479 (7th Cir. 2010).] Significant gaps in the reasoning of the Seventh Circuit opinion raise serious questions about the correctness of its holding.

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