The ABA Tax Section has submitted a comment letter to the Tax Court on its proposed amendments to its rules:

The Section commends the Court on the proposed amendments to its Rules and endorses the Court’s efforts to provide clarity with regard to its procedures and promote efficiency in case administration and resolution. The amendments proposed on December 20, 2010, include modifications and clarifications of several of the Court’s discovery rules, timing and filing rules, and the rules regarding alternative dispute resolution. We believe that these proposed amendments further the Court’s efforts in achieving expeditious and balanced review of tax disputes, while taking into account the varying nature of the taxpayers that appear before the Court and the types and sizes of cases that the Court hears. The following comments summarily reflect the Section’s understanding of how the new provisions work, why they are necessary, and/or the problems they seek to address, as well as issues and suggestions that may assist the Court in refining the proposed amendments.