IRS Points to Statute in Supreme Court Fight Over Bank Summons

A statute authorizing the IRS to demand bank records without giving account holders notice applies even if the account holder isn’t the person who has been assessed a tax liability, the agency told the Supreme Court.

The Internal Revenue Service made that argument in a brief it filed Wednesday, as it gears up for oral arguments at the high court on March 29. The agency will be defending its failure to notify an assessed taxpayer’s wife and law firm when it issued summonses for their bank records.

The brief from the agency focused heavily on the text ...