Opinion
26635-15W
02-16-2023
WHISTLEBLOWER 26635-16W, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER
Richard T. Morrison, Judge.
Petitioner has filed claims with the IRS Whistleblower Office that petitioner is entitled to a monetary award for giving that office information about third-party taxpayers that we refer to as the targets.
On June 5, 2017, we entered a protective order to protect from disclosure the target information disclosed by respondent to petitioner. Target information was defined as the returns (within the meaning of section 6103(b)(1)) and return information (within the meaning of section 6103(b)(2)) of the targets. Among other things, the protective order barred petitioner from disclosing the target information to any person except for the sole purpose of trial preparation.
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to sections are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended and in effect at the relevant times. All references to Rules are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Pending before the Court is petitioner's Motion to Modify Order June 5, 2017 Protective Order. In this motion, filed on March 23, 2018, petitioner moved to modify the protective order. Specifically, petitioner asks that the Court modify the protective order to permit petitioner to file a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration about the IRS's handling of the information given to the IRS Whistleblower Office.
Section 6103(a) provides that returns and return information shall be confidential, and no federal employee may disclose any return or return information obtained by that employee in any manner in connection with that employee's government service. Section 6103(a)'s rule against disclosing returns and return information admits a number of exceptions. One such exception is section 6103(h)(4)(A), which provides that a return or return information may be disclosed in a federal or state judicial or administrative proceeding pertaining to tax administration if the taxpayer is a party to the proceeding or if the proceeding arose out of, or in connection with determining the taxpayer's tax liability. Pursuant to section 6103(h)(4)(A), respondent in a whistleblower case may disclose to the whistleblower certain return and return information about the targets. See Whistleblower 972-17W v. Commissioner, 159 T.C.*1, * 10 (2022).
Tax Court Rule 103(a) provides that the Court may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or other person from "annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense." See also Rule 345. In determining whether to issue a protective order, the Court balances the public's interest in access against the countervailing interests needing protection. Willie Nelson Music Co. v. Commissioner, 85 T.C. 914, 917-19 (1985).
The Court's protective order is intended to facilitate petitioner's ability to challenge in our Court the determination of the IRS Whistleblower Office while protecting the interests of the targets in the confidentiality of their returns and return information. It is not intended to facilitate petitioner's ability to file a complaint with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
It is therefore ORDERED that petitioner's March 23, 2018 Motion to Modify Order June 5, 2017 Protective Order is denied.