CIC Services LLC, v. IRS concerns whether taxpayers can challenge IRS regulations in court before they take effect
Washington, D.C. (July 22, 2020) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case CIC Services LLC, v. Internal Revenue Service requesting the Court clarify that the Anti-Injunction Act’s scope is limited to its terms and that it does not prohibit pre-enforcement judicial review of tax rules.
“Ever-changing federal tax laws have traditionally been a significant concern for small businesses across the country who need to be able to understand and rely on when and how they will be taxed,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “We are urging the Supreme Court to treat the Internal Revenue Service like any other federal agency and affirmatively say that taxpayers can challenge tax regulations they believe legally suspect in court before they are faced with ruinous tax penalties.”
The case primarily concerns whether the Anti-Junction Act’s bar on lawsuits for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of taxes also bars challenges to unlawful regulatory mandates issued by administrative agencies that are not taxes. Cited in the brief, NFIB’s National Small Business Poll on Regulations shows that tax rules cause the greatest difficulties of any type of regulation for small businesses.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
