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IRS REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE DENIAL OF EXEMPT STATUS RULINGS.

Posted on Aug. 27, 2004

Citations: Tax Analysts v. IRS; No. 1:00CV02914(RMU); 94 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2004-5652; 2004 WL 2051361

SUMMARY BY TAX ANALYSTS

U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, in Tax Analysts' suit for release of rulings denying section 501(c) status, has held that section 6110 applies to the rulings requested and denied after 1976, that the rulings must be released, and that the IRS will mail notices of intention to disclose with each adverse letter ruling issued.
TAX ANALYSTS, Plaintiff, v. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, Defendant.

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

 

JUDGMENT ORDER

 

 

Pursuant to the mandate issued by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 30, 2004, the parties having agreed on the following terms of implementation, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed:

1. Defendant Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") will apply the provisions and procedures of section 6110 of the Internal Revenue Code ("IRC § 6110"), and applicable regulations, for the public inspection of written determinations, in making available for public inspection the letter rulings that are the subject of this judgment order; i.e, letter rulings issued in response to rulings requests after November 1, 1976, by which applications for IRC § 501(c) exempt status were denied, and letter rulings by which such exempt status was revoked (hereafter "EO denial and revocation letter rulings").

2. IRS has completed the redaction and notice procedures of IRC § 6110 for eight of the 12 EO denial and revocation letter rulings that were identified by IRS and described in the Complaint ¶7, and Answer, ¶7. IRS will make these eight rulings available for public inspection and provide copies of those eight rulings to plaintiff Tax Analysts ("Tax Analysts") no later than July 6, 2004. IRS will process two of the 12 EO denial and revocation letter rulings under ¶3 below. IRS has been unable to complete the IRC § 6110 notice procedures for the eleventh and twelfth rulings, notice to the organizations having been returned to IRS by the United States Postal Service ("USPS") as undeliverable, and IRS therefore is unable lawfully to make these two rulings available for public inspection (or to provide the rulings to plaintiff Tax Analysts).

3. IRS is presently carrying out the redaction and notice procedures of IRC § 6110 for all EO denial and revocation letter rulings issued or dated between December 2, 2003, the date of the Court of Appeals' opinion in this case, and July 1, 2004. IRS will complete sending the notices of intention to disclose required by IRC § 6110(f)(1) to the affected organizations no later than July 19, 2004. Notices will be mailed to the affected organizations at the addresses to which such rulings were mailed. No later than September 30, 2004, IRS will make available for public inspection, and will provide copies to plaintiff Tax Analysts, all such rulings for which the affected organization does not seek relief under IRC § 6110(f)(3) and notice of which is not returned to IRS by USPS as undeliverable.

4. Beginning on July 1, 2004, IRS will mail notices of intention to disclose, as provided in IRC §6110(f)(1), at the same time as and together with each EO denial or revocation letter ruling issued after that date, and will follow the procedures of § 6110 with respect thereto.

5. No later than July 1, 2004, IRS will issue an Action on Decision (AOD) that provides notice to the public that (a) the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit invalidated Treas. Reg. §§ 301.6110-1(a) and 301.6104(a)(1)(i); (b) the IRS will no longer argue that EO denial or revocation letter rulings are not subject to public inspection under IRC § 6110; and (c) the IRS will begin making EO denial and revocation letter rulings available for public inspection. The IRS will post the AOD to its website, irs.gov.

6. No later than October 31, 2004, the parties shall submit to this court a proposed supplemental judgment order, specifying a schedule for redaction, notice and release for public inspection of EO denial and revocation letter rulings issued before December 2, 2003, and with respect to ruling requests submitted after November 1, 1976. The proposed supplemental judgment order will provide for processing of such rulings in reverse chronological order, e.g., the latest, such as rulings issued between January 1, 2002, and December 2, 2003, will be processed first, etc.; will provide that notice will be mailed to the address appearing on the letter ruling for each affected organization, and will provide for opening them to public inspection as outlined in ¶3, supra.

Dated this 9th day of August, 2004.

Signature

 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

 

Copies to:

Stuart Gibson, Esq.

 

Tax Division

 

Civil Trial Section Eastern Region

 

U.S. Department of Justice

 

P.O. Box 227

 

Ben Franklin Station

 

Washington, DC 20044

 

Stuart.D.Gibson@usdoj.gov

 

 

William A. Dobrovir, Esq.

 

P.O. Box 198

 

Sperryville, VA 22740-0198

 

Dobrovirpc@aol.com

 

 

Cornish F. Hitchcock, Esq.

 

5301 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.

 

Suite 350

 

Washington, DC 20015
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