James R. Browne (Strasburger & Price, Dallas) has published Canal: Casting Stones, 131 Tax Notes 1363 (June 27, 2011):

In this report, Browne argues that the Tax Court in Canal [135 T.C. 199 (2010)] erred in holding that reliance on a tax adviser is per se unreasonable when the adviser was involved in planning the transaction and had a financial interest in its outcome. He argues that the Tax Court should have applied a facts and circumstances test and more carefully evaluated whether the evidence supported a finding that the taxpayer did not reasonably rely on the adviser’s legal opinion.

All Tax Analysts content is available through the LexisNexis® services. Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Tax Court Upholds $37m Penalty Against TP Who Relied on Tax Opinion Issued by PWC for $800k Flat Fee (Aug. 6, 2010)
• More on Tax Court’s Approval of $37m Penalty Because of PWC’s ‘Tainted’ Opinion (Given for $800k Flat Fee) (Aug. 7, 2010)
• Tax Court ‘Misguided’ in Accuracy-Related Penalty Decision Involving $800k PWC Flat-Fee Opinion (Aug. 9, 2010)