Professor Ventry Comments on First Circuit Decision for WSJ

Professor Dennis J. Ventry, Jr. commented on a recent federal appeals court ruling for the Wall Street Journal.  The article also noted that the Court cited Professor Ventry in its opinion. Moreover, the government had relied on one of Ventry's articles in its briefs and at oral argument.

Professor Ventry told the Journal that the First Circuit correctly held in United States v. Textron that a corporate taxpayer's tax accrual workpapers do not qualify for immunity from disclosure under the work product doctrine. While work product protection is reserved for documents and materials reasonably prepared in anticipation of litigation, tax accrual workpapers - which support a corporate taxpayer's reserve for deferred or contingent tax liabilities in the taxpayer's audited financial statements - amount to financial disclosure documents compelled by regulatory requirements rather than the press of litigation.

The taxpayer in Textron, Ventry said, along with some other corporate taxpayers and their tax professionals are "trying to expand the work-product doctrine far beyond its original intent," which was designed to protect the adversary process and a lawyer's mental processes. In addition, Ventry added, "The IRS operates with significant information deficiencies and some companies bury things into a large tax return and try to obscure what they're doing." Providing access to a company's workpapers helps the government determine if the taxpayer is accurately representing its financial history and paying its fair share of taxes.

Professor Ventry is an expert in tax policy, and has written widely on the subject. His research interests include family taxation, tax expenditure analysis, legal ethics and professional standards, tax and legal history, tax compliance and administration, and public finance.