Tax research is necessary for tax accountants to gather the appropriate facts or laws to come to
proper conclusions for their clients (Sawyers & Gill, 2020). With any type of research there are
primary and secondary sources, but with sources of tax law, primary and secondary sources have
specific meanings.
Primary sources come from legislative or statutory sources, which are sources relating to laws or
sources that enact laws (Sawyers & Gill, 2020). The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is the foundation of
tax law, and these laws are deciphered through a legislative process and turned into statutory laws,
meaning this is a key primary source in tax research. Considering the IRC is the foundation of tax
law, using it as a primary source in tax research provides the utmost factual support. By providing
laws that come from the IRC and other tax law sources, sets the best foundation, and ensures the
decisions being made accurate and abide by tax law.
Secondary sources of legislative tax law are sources that provide tax information that does not
come directly from official sources, like the IRC (Thomson Reuters, 2023). Secondary sources are
thing such as tax journals, tax services, IRS publications, etc. Gathering tax information from
secondary sources helps tax researchers draw connections from their case to other real-world
cases. This too can provide guidance and support in reaching the best conclusions. It can also help
provide the tax researcher and their client with simpler and easier to understand terms, as tax law
can be confusing. This could help the researcher reach conclusions faster, because everyone is on
the same page faster.
The legislative primary authorities consist of the following U.S. Constitution, new tax laws enacted
by Congress and incorporated into the Internal Revenue Code, reports issued by congressional
committees as new laws are enacted, and treaties with other countries, which are negotiated by
the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. These authorities are sometimes referred
to as statutory authorities. They are generally accorded a higher level of authority than other
administrative or judicial primary authorities.
The difference between primary and secondary sources for the tax system is primary sources in the
tax system refer to immediate, firsthand accounts of a topic, whereas secondary sources
encompass any information that does not fall into the category of primary sources. primary sources
may consist of laws and legislation, Acts of Congress, court cases, rules, and government
documents. Secondary sources can include broadcast research, newspaper articles, and other forms
of media. It is important to note that secondary sources can cite both primary and secondary
sources. The most important thing to remember when doing tax research is making sure you have
the most up-to-date information. You must always figure out if the information you are using is a
primary source or a secondary source.
References
Home — national timber tax. (n.d.-a). https://www.timbertax.org/
Roby Sawyers, & Gill, S. L. (2020). Federal Tax Research. (12th ed.). South-Western.
Sawyers, R., & Gill, S. (2020). Federal Tax Research (12th ed.). Cengage Learning US.
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780357366448
Thomson Reuters. (2023). What are the best tax research sources?.
https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/blog/what-are-the-best-tax-research-
sources/#:~:text=Secondary%20tax%20authorities%20are%20unofficial,Tax%20journals%20and%20n
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