Ash v. Commissioner
United States Tax Court
96 T.C. 459 (1991)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
In 1985, Mary Kay Ash (plaintiff) exchanged shares she owned in Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc. for securities of other entities in the cosmetic company’s group. In 1989, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) began investigating both Ash’s 1985 income tax return and the tax returns of other entities within the cosmetic company’s corporate group. In September and October of 1989, the IRS issued administrative summonses to the Mary Kay Corporation and to the corporation’s third-party accountant. In December of 1989, Ash filed a petition in the United States Tax Court seeking a redetermination of deficiencies the IRS had issued for the 1985 tax year. In 1990, the IRS issued another administrative summons to the Mary Kay Corporation’s bankers. Ash filed a motion with the Tax Court seeking a protective order preventing the IRS from accessing, reviewing, or using documents or information obtained pursuant to the summonses. Ash argued that the IRS’s use of the summons improperly circumvented the Tax Court’s discovery procedures.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Wright, J.)
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