Legal Minute
THE DEATH OF A LEGEND
By David F. Golden
Troutman Sanders, LLP
[email protected]
I
f you have received an email in the last decade or so from
a tax or perhaps a corporate law practitioner you likely saw
the following legend at the bottom of the message:
I.R.S. Circular 230 Disclosure: To ensure compliance with
requirements imposed by the I.R.S., we inform you that any
tax advice that may be contained in this communication
(including any attachments) is not intended or written to be
used and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding
any penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii)
promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any
transaction(s) or tax related matter(s) that may be addressed
herein.
This ubiquitous message was typically appended to any
e-mail regardless of whether it contained tax advice. For
example, if you emailed a tax practitioner seeking a meeting
for lunch, you would likely get back a message that you could
not rely on the reply to avoid penalties under the Internal
Revenue Code.
The legend originated as a result of requirements for
certain opinions set forth in “Circular 230.” Circular 230 is a
Treasury Regulation which essentially sets forth the “rules of
engagement” with the Internal Revenue Service. Circuit 230
generally applies to attorneys, certified public accountants,
and enrolled agents. As a result of the tax s [ \