equired to pay federal income tax.
When an individual is audited by the Internal Revenue Service, the taxpayer or corporation may undertake the I.R.S. Appeals Conference in order to strengthen settlement position. The request for an Appeals Conference must be filed in a timely manner and every Appeals Officer has broad latitude in settlement issues. Conference and Settlement procedures are embodied in Title 26 of the U.S.C. in a number of chapters and sections relating to such procedures. Laws, regulations, and procedures relating to conference and settlement procedures are readily available in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), Part 8 § 1, Conference and Settlement Practice, and Part 35, §§ 4, 5.
If falls to the Appeals Officer to ensure that all requirements are met prior to disclosure of information of a confidential nature or allowing practice.
Disclosure of Information of a Confidential Nature
Under I.R.C., confidential information may only be disclosed in the presence of written authorization by the taxpayer (IRM 11.3). There are seven exceptions to disclosure rules:
Representatives without power of attorney.
Estates, trust and receiverships may be represented by their trustees, receiver, guardians, or fill-time employees (26 C.F.R. 601.504(b)(2)(iv).
Committees of Congress, Treasury personnel outside the IRS, and other federal and state agencies.
Counsel of Record before the U.S. Tax Court.
Others defined in Sections 10.5(c) and 10.7 of Circular 230.
Disclosure of Information-Informants
Informant identity cannot be revealed to any Service officials or employee except on a need-to-know basis. It is critical that no information regarding the existence or identity of an information in an appeals case is contained in the Appeals Case Memo.
Disclosure of Information-Department of Justice
Only when a proper written application is filed by a U.S. attorney or attorney of the Department ...