United States Third Circuit

A tax court decision holding Treas. Reg. 1.882-4(a)(3)(i) to be invalid is reversed where: 1) the Tax Court erred in applying National Muffler Dealers Ass'n v. US, 440 U.S. 472 (1979), rather than Chevron v. NRDC, 467 U.S. 837 (1984), when evaluating the validity of the regulation, to the extent that the National Muffler factors are inconsistent with Chevron analysis; 2) applying Chevron, the court finds I.R.C. section 882(c)(2) to be ambiguous, and thus the Secretary was justified in promulgating a rule that prescribed a filing deadline; and 3) the eighteen-month filing window created by the regulation was a reasonable exercise of the Secretary's authority.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/15/2008
• Published 02/19/2008

Judges

• Before:  AMBRO, JORDAN and ROTH, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gilbert S. Rothenberg, Esquire (Argued), United States Department of Justice, Appellate Section, Eileen J. O'Connor, Esquire, Assistant Attorney General, Richard T. Morrison, Esquire, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Jonathan S. Cohen, Esquire, Steven W. Parks, Esquire, Attorneys, Tax Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Phillip L. Jelsma, Esquire, (Argued), Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP, San Diego, CA, for Appellee.