On Mon, 4 Jan 1999, Christine Stouffer wrote:
> What is the exact name of the source used in tax research that is
> commonly referred to as "the blue book" (not the citator, of course).
>
Christine,
Short answer: they're committee prints from the Joint Committee on
Taxation with a "General Explanation" of tax legislation.
Long answer: Since I was not sure enough to fire off an answer without
doublechecking, I ended up doing a bit of digging, as a form of
self-education for the new year. I thought I'd share what I gleaned, for
you and any law-libbers who care. (Others should press the delete key
*now*.)
Gail Levin Richmond's, Federal Tax Research: Guide to Materials
and Techniques (5th ed. 1997), often the first guide I turn to for tax
questions, disappointed me. The index lists BLUE BOOK with only
an instruction to "See Legislative History," then LEGISLATIVE HISTORY just
says "See also Statutes." Happily, the table of contents led me to
Chapter 6. LEGISLATIVE HISTORIES, Section E., Blue Book and Other Staff
Documents:
"The General Explanation ('Blue Book') issued by the staff of the
Joint Committee on Taxation is not an official committee report. As such,
it is not covered by materials giving citations to committee reports. The
same is true for other Joint Committee staff reports and for reports of
subcommittees of legislative committees. The later reports are published
as committee prints."
I believe the Blue Book is published as a committee print, too, but that's
not clear from this passage, so I kept looking:
"A 'General Explanation' of tax legislation occasionally is prepared by
the Joint Committee on Taxation (the 'Blue Book'). Exhibit 3-5 reproduces
a portion of such a Committee Report." William A. Raabe et al., West's
Federal Tax Research 66 (4th ed. 1997).
Richmond said they *aren't* reports and I remembered them as prints, so
I'm not stopping here.
"3.2.7 Joint Committee 'Blue Books'
"From 1970 to 1987 the Joint Committee (of Congress) issued a general
explanation of the major tax acts. These excellent services are no longer
published."
Leah F. Chanin & Kathryn Fitzhugh, _Federal Income Taxation_, in
Specialized Legal Research (Leah Chanin ed.) (August 1995 release).
Apparently they aren't published any more, but we still haven't confirmed
that they were prints.
Not satisfied with the three research guides, I went to CIS.
(Our library has CIS Congressional Universe, but one could also check the
print volumes.) My recollection that these are published as prints is
correct. Moreover, even though Chanin and Fitzhugh observed that the
series ended in 1987, it has been brought to life again: I found "General
Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in 1997," a committee print from
the Joint Committee on Taxation, CIS-NO: 97-J862-92; and "General
Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 104th Congress," CIS-NO:
96-J862-60. But before those two, the most recent was "General
Explanation of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (H.R. 3838, 99th Congress;
Public Law 99-514)," CIS-NO: 87-J862-15.
The weight of these blue books as legislative history is
apparently a matter of some controversy:
"The court pointed out that the first occasion that this interest was
stated to be personal at all times was in the Report of the Staff of the
Joint Committee on Taxation. Since this bluebook is a post enactment
explanation, it is not on par with the legislative history. Finally, the
court cited an article by two law experts that also concluded that the
bluebook goes beyond the language of the Code." 12 Akron Tax J. 181, *184
ARTICLE: INTEREST DEDUCTION FOR INDIVIDUALS: REVIEW AND UPDATE, by Edward
Schnee (citing Miller v. United States, 841 F. Supp. 305, (D.N.D. 1993))
"While the Blue Book gives support to the IRS' position, the IRS could not
'salvage' it in Redlark. The majority held that the Blue Book:
"Is not part of the legislative history although it is entitled to
respect. . . . Where there is no corroboration in the actual
legislative history, we shall not hesitate to disregard the General
Explanation as far as congressional intent is concerned. . . . Given
the clear thrust of the conference committee report, the General
Explanation is without foundation and must fall by the wayside."
Melinda L. Reynolds, Comment: Redlark v. Commissioner: A "Bird in the
Hand" for Noncorporate Taxpayers?, 47 Case W. Res. 751 (1997) (quoting
Redlark v. Commissioner, 106 T.C. 31 (1996))
I hope this helps. I know *I* feel more informed. (Tax materials
*still* have the power to baffle me, after all these years.)
Cheers,
Mary
Mary Whisner, Head of Reference
Gallagher Law Library, University of Washington
whisner@u.washington.edu
Library's website: http://lib.law.washington.edu
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Nov 14 2007 - 20:50:02 PST