When a partnership claimed a $9.5 million tax deduction after donating 106 acres to a Tennessee land conservancy, the IRS challenged it. Both the U.S. Tax Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found in favor of the IRS, but the latter decision was split. This prompted the partnership to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. In its petition, the partnership claimed that the lower courts’ application of the Administrative Procedure Act was flawed because a conservation easement regulation was finalized without a proper notice-and-comment process. Among other things, the partnership is asking the Court to rule on what makes a public comment “significant” enough that it requires a response.
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