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applying the principles of a published Revenue
Ruling to the facts of their particular cases.
* * * [Sec. 601.601(d)(2), Statement of
Procedural Rules.]
Similar statements appear in the introduction section of each
volume of the Commissioner’s Internal Revenue Bulletin. See,
e.g., 1978-1 C.B. at iii. Surely, given these statements,
taxpayers should be entitled to rely on revenue rulings in
structuring their transactions, and they should not be faced with
the daunting prospect of the Commissioner’s disavowing his
rulings in subsequent litigation.
Recently, the IRS, in a joint statement issued by the
Commissioner, the Chief Counsel, and the Acting Assistant
Secretary (Tax Policy) of the Department of the Treasury, has
indicated its “continuing commitment to serve the public through
the published guidance process”. Department of the Treasury
2002-2003 Priorities for Tax Regulations and Other Administrative
Guidance (July 10, 2002). To that end, the IRS has committed
itself “to increased and more timely published guidance”, in the
form of revenue rulings and revenue procedures, in the hopes of
achieving increased taxpayer compliance and resolving “frequently
disputed tax issues”. These stated goals will not be achieved if
the Commissioner refuses to follow his own published guidance and
argues in court proceedings that revenue rulings do not bind him
or that his rulings are incorrect. Certainly, the Commissioner’s
failure to follow his own rulings would be unfair to those
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