DOJ Won’t Argue for Chevron Deference for Revenue Rulings and Procedures, Official Says, 2011 TNT 90-7 (May 10, 2011):

The Department of Justice will no longer argue for Chevron deference for revenue rulings and revenue procedures, said Gilbert Rothenberg, appellate section chief in the DOJ’s Tax Division. Academics had speculated that guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin or Cumulative Bulletin might be the next step following Mayo, but Rothenberg said that if the issue is important enough for Chevron deference, “I’m going to ask my client agency if they would just issue a regulation.” …

Prof. Kristin Hickman of the University of Minnesota Law School said that the announcement that the DOJ wouldn’t pursue Chevron deference for revenue rulings and procedures wouldn’t eliminate the problem because it “comes down to what kind of power has Congress delegated to the agency, and how does Congress perceive the legal force of agency action?”

All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services.