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dignity of those ‘rules and regulations’ which under the
authority of sec. 7805(a) are prescribed by respondent ‘with the
approval of the Secretary.’ Sec. 301.7805-1(a), Proced. & Admin.
Regs." Estate of Lang v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 404, 406-407 &
n.4 (1975), affd. in part on this issue and revd. in part on
other grounds 613 F.2d 770 (9th Cir. 1980); see also United
States v. Mead Corp., 533 U.S. 218, 228 (2001).
Moreover, notwithstanding Notice 89-51, the Service until
May 2002 preempted litigation as to its construction of section
7521 by providing taxpayers with the right to record Appeals
conferences or hearings and, in the process, explicitly
recognized the integral role played by Appeals in the
Examination, Employee Plans and Exempt Organization, and
Collection functions. See 5 Administration, Internal Revenue
Manual (CCH), sec. 8626.1, at 25,784 (e.g., 10-23-91 revision),
which provided:
General Guidelines
(1) The audio recording of an Appeals conference
is generally permitted, if the taxpayer, or the
taxpayer’s authorized representative requests it, and
supplies the recording equipment. In such cases, the
appeals officer will also make an audio recording of
the conference with IRS equipment.
(2) IRC 7521 (formerly IRC 7520) provides that
taxpayers may make audio recordings of interviews with
the IRS that determine liability or collectibility.
Although Appeals conferences differ in nature from
taxpayer interviews in the auditing or collecting
functions, Appeals still decides liability or
collectibility on cases in which those issues have been
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