IRS Ordered to Identify When Staff Learned of Penalty Backdating

The US Tax Court ordered the IRS on Tuesday to identify when various agency personnel became aware of misstatements to the court about the date that a $15.2 million penalty against a conservation easement donor was approved.

The court said the dates that IRS personnel became aware of the misstatements are relevant to its consideration of whether to sanction the agency. The IRS has already admitted an employee backdated a signature on a penalty approval form, and that its earlier statements to the court “fall short of the level of excellence ...