Tenth Circuit Rejects First Amendment Challenge to IRS Summons

The IRS may proceed with its summonses for the bank records of two defendants accused by the US of promoting ways to delay reporting capital gains, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Monday.

A district court denied David Bishop and Slim Ventures LLC’s request that it quash summonses issued by the IRS to Wells Fargo Bank, Key Bank, Zions Bank, and Summit Crest Financial LLC. Bishop argued that the summonses were used improperly to violate his rights under the First Amendment.

“There is no evidence that supports petitioners’ claim that the IRS’s investigation was motivated by an intent to chill their First ...