SCOTUS Case Denial Is Treasury’s Win in Tax-Rule Scrutiny Era

The Supreme Court’s decision not to review a major Ninth Circuit ruling that went against tech companies gave the Treasury Department a win, and could offer the department some hope as it faces increasing scrutiny of its tax regulations.

The circuit court’s decision in Altera v. Comm’r upheld regulations that Apple, Google, and Facebook claimed would cost U.S. companies billions of dollars. That high-stakes win for Treasury demonstrates a potential limit to lawsuits alleging that the department didn’t follow proper procedures when issuing regulations. Experts still caution, though, that Treasury should be careful at a time when it faces increasing ...