Question

Please give seven examples of common authoritative tax law sources, describe/define them, and rank the seven examples in order of authority.

Answer 1

There are two types of authorities. Primary authorities and secondary authorities

What are Primary vs. Secondary authorities?

Primary authority are the bare act which govern the law. It is documented and are binding upon all the citizens, government and the courts.

Secondary authority is the one that clears the ambiguity in the verbal text of primary authority and settle the disputes between taxpayer and tax authorities. They are generally in public domain and are authored by private organizations, NPOs, individuals in the simpler language to help in better understanding.

Can you give examples of each?

Examples of primary authority are:

• Constitutions;
• Basic laws;
• Statutes (whether codified or un-codified );
• Treaties and certain other international law materials;
• Municipal charters and ordinances;
• Court opinions;^[1]
• Rules of court procedure;
• Rules of evidence;
• Rules governing the conduct of lawyers;
• Administrative regulations;
• Executive orders.

Examples of secondary authority are:

• Legal briefs and memoranda;
• Tax forms and instructions published by governments
• Government publications explaining or summarizing the laws

Consider the following sources of tax law: statutes, case law, IRS announcements (i.e., Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, etc.). Which would seem the strongest to you, if any?

• In legal hierarchy, IRS announcements are considered as 2nd highest authority after regulations