Case: U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds IRS Denial of FOIA Request for Third-Party Tax Returns, Cites Confidentiality

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the IRS properly denied the taxpayer’s FOIA request for third-party tax returns without authorization, affirming the district court’s judgment. The taxpayer sought third-party tax returns from the IRS under FOIA. The IRS denied the request, citing IRC §6103, which provides that tax returns and return information shall be confidential. The district court granted summary judgment to the IRS. The court held that §6103 qualifies as a withholding statute under FOIA Exemption 3, and the requested materials fell within its scope. The court rejected the taxpayer’s arguments that various circumstances ...