ABA Tax Group Urges Senate to Vote on Tax Court Nominees

The American Bar Association Section of Taxation (the "Section") strongly encourages you to bring the nominations of Elizabeth Ann Copeland and Vik Edwin Stoll to the United States Tax Court ("Tax Court") for an immediate floor vote. The views expressed in this letter are presented on behalf of the Section and are not the position of the American Bar Association since they have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association. Principal responsibility for drafting the letter was exercised by the Section's Committee on Appointments to the Tax Court Chair, Mary A. McNulty. The letter was reviewed by Pamela F. Olson, that Committee's Last Retiring Chair.

Ms. Copeland's nomination was received by the Senate on May 4, 2015, and Mr. Stoll's nomination was received by the Senate on November 9, 2015. The Section subsequently responded to inquiries by the staff of the Senate Finance Committee and conveyed its views that Ms. Copeland is well qualified and Mr. Stoll is qualified to serve on the Tax Court. On April 18, 2016, both nominees were unanimously reported out favorably by the Senate Finance Committee. Each has since been awaiting a confirmation vote by the full Senate.

The Tax Court plays an important role in our voluntary tax system because it affords taxpayers the only judicial forum in which they may dispute a tax deficiency before paying any of the disputed amount. The Tax Court's docket includes both complex cases that present issues of first impression for large corporate taxpayers and many more cases for small businesses and pro se taxpayers that present wide-ranging issues, including income and deductions, innocent spouse, and collection due process.

The Tax Court is comprised of 19 judges appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Appointment to the Tax Court has traditionally been based on merit. The Tax Court currently has three vacancies.¹ We believe that vacancies on the Tax Court result in longer waits for cases to be heard at the cost of uncertainty to the taxpayers and the government fisc. In addition, the accrual of interest and potential penalties can increase, significantly, the amount a taxpayer ultimately owes. Prolonged vacancies result in hardships for taxpayers, as well as increased workloads for the other Tax Court judges.

The failure to vote on the pending nominees will waste taxpayer dollars and government resources if the nomination process must begin again because the pending nominees are not approved during the 114th Congress. Therefore, the Section strongly encourages the Senate to bring the pending nominations of Elizabeth Ann Copeland and Vik Edwin Stoll to a full vote on the Senate Floor and not allow their nominations to expire with the end of this Congress.

The Honorable Orrin Hatch, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee

The Honorable Ron Wyden, Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee