Justice for All : The IRS Reimagined

The ability of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to both collect the tax and enforce the initial determination of tax liability in a neutral and fair manner has been compromised by a February 2011 pronouncement issued by the Department of Justice (“Justice”) stating that the President and Justice believe that Section 3 of Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional and that Justice will no longer defend the statute in courts. The pronouncement results in a disparate treatment of similar taxpayers based solely on the forum of litigation. Through this lens, I examine whether it is proper for Justice and the IRS to continue to share prosecutorial powers when such results are possible. Assuming that any incremental improvement is desirable as long as does not harm one person, I conclude that Justice should have exclusive litigation authority to protect against this very result