Questions 31 through 33 refer to the following text.
The IRS Chief Counsel is appointed by the President of
the United States, with the advice and consent of the U.S.
Senate, and serves as the chief legal advisor to the IRS
Commissioner on all matters pertaining to the interpretation,
administration, and enforcement of the Internal Revenue
Code, as well as all other legal matters. Under the IRS
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, the Chief Counsel
reports to both the IRS Commissioner and the Treasury
General Counsel.
Attorneys in the Chief Counsel's Office serve as lawyers for
the IRS. They provide the IRS and taxpayers with guidance
on interpreting Federal tax laws correctly, represent the
IRS in litigation, and provide all other legal support required
to carry out the IRS mission.
Chief Counsel received 95,929 cases and closed
94,323 cases during fiscal year 2012. Of the new cases
received, and cases closed, the majority related to tax law
enforcement and litigation, including Tax Court litigation;
collection, bankruptcy, and summons advice and litigation;
Appellate Court litigation; criminal tax; and enforcement
advice and assistance.
In Fiscal Year 2012, Chief Counsel received 31,295
Tax Court cases involving taxpayers contesting an IRS
determination that they owed additional tax. The total
amount of tax and penalty in dispute at the end of the fiscal
year was almost $6.6 billion.
(Source: Internal Revenue Service Data Book, 2012.)
As described in the text, the mission of attorneys working in the Chief Counsel's Office includes:
