Easement Tax Penalty Should Require Jury Trial, Landlord Argues

The IRS wrongly denied a Louisiana property owner a jury trial before asserting fraud penalties for its rejected conservation easement donation, it told a federal appeals court.

Norcave Properties LLC invoked the recent US Supreme Court decision in SEC v. Jarkesy—which struck down a penalty levied without a jury trial on Seventh Amendment grounds—to claim the IRS’ penalty against it for the claimed tax deduction was unconstitutional. The company told the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that a trial would have given it a chance to defend the IRS’ accusations.

A lower court issued a judgment ...