There are three sources of in the framework of primary sources of federal tax law which are
statutory, administrative, and judicial. c Statutory sources include tax law. Because changes to the IRC
are passed by Congress and signed by the executive branch into statutory law through a legislative
proves, the code is often considered the focal point of legislative tax law (Swayers & Gill 2021).
Other primary sources of legislative tax law are the constitution, tax treaties and the internal
revenue code. c Additional primary sources include treasury regulations, revenue rulings and
procedures, and court cases.
There is a difference between primary and secondary sources, the most surprising part of this topic
is when I realized in this class is the IRS.gov website is a secondary source. While this website can
direct you to a law or court case, as our professor mentioned the IRS website is the individuals
working for the IRS’ opinion and translation of the law. While primary sources are important for
finding the facts, secondary sources play a large role in tax research. Secondary sources provide an
opinion on how another individual or group of individuals interpret the certain laws and other
primary sources. While you may not always agree with their opinion it can help when trying to
understand complex topics. Secondary sources can also help when trying to determine where to
find a primary source. For example, if you have a client and you are trying to reference a certain IRC
you can search secondary sources to try and help you locate the correct IRC when you are not sure
how to find it.
Primary and secondary sources are both important when doing tax research. The primary source is
always the best source to get the exact verbiage of the law or case you are trying to reference.
Secondary sources can back up your opinion and help compliment your argument in addition to the
primary source.
What is the difference between primary and secondary sources for the tax system?
The three main categories of primary sources are judicial, administrative, and statutory. Statutory
sources relate to the U.S. Constitution, international tax treaties, and tax laws. State and federal laws
are both potential statutory sources. The most common Statutory source for taxes is known as Title
26 of the United States Code, also known as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986. Treasury regulations, revenue rulings, and procedures serve as
administrative sources. Internal Revenue Bulletins, IRS policies, notices, and executive orders are
sources of administrative law while the decisions made by the courts serve as judicial sources. The
federal or state court systems, as well as the decisions and rulings in specific court cases, are the
sources of the law. Secondary sources of information about the tax system include unofficial sources
like newsletters, tax services, and journals.
Where do the different source types stem from, and how does each play an important role in tax
research?
When doing tax research, it is important to look at the most up-to-date primary sources of
information. When I do tax research at my current job, I use one of our firm's subscriptions, CCH
Answer Connect. This site allows me to quickly investigate secondary sources while also giving the
primary source (IRC) that the information comes from. When doing tax research, it is much easier to
understand secondary sources, however, primary sources give you the best information. Because of
this relationship tax preparers should use a mixture of the two to get the best results in a timely
manner.
Reference:
Roby Sawyers, & Gill, S. L. (2020). Federal Tax Research. (12th ed.). South-Western.
Sawyers, Roby B. PH.D., CPA and Gill, Steven L. PH.D. (2021). Federal Tax Research. 12th Edition.
Cengage Learnings, Inc. Boston, MA.
