On August 4, 1988, the Council of the Section of Taxation approved a
resolution regarding the review of government submissions, and on January 26, 1995,
certain modifications were adopted. The current policy of the Council regarding the review
of government submissions is as follows:
Except as provided below, all written submissions to a government official
or entity shall be submitted in advance to the Committee on Government Submissions
("COGS") and to the Council Director of the relevant Committee. Specific
procedures for review by such persons and for the substitution in place of the Council
Director where appropriate of another Council member or Officer shall be formulated and
maintained by the Committee on Government Submissions, subject to the approval of the Vice
Chairs for Governmental Relations and Committee Operations.
The primary purposes of review by COGS shall be to ensure (1) that the
submission is in the correct form and includes a cover sheet; (2) that the document is
clearly written, well organized, and internally consistent from a stylistic standpoint,
with major points being appropriately emphasized (preferably through an "executive
summary" up front); and (3) that the substantive points are technically accurate,
intellectually honest, and not obviously unbalanced towards particular client interests or
results that reflect clearly bad tax policy. In some instances, a COGS reviewer also may
be able to suggest additional substantive points based on his or her particular expertise
or experience. The COGS reviewer should not normally attempt to duplicate committee
research, substantially rewrite the submission, or substitute his own substantive
preferences for those of the committee.
The Council Director of the relevant Committee will follow the development
of a proposed government submission and review it, not only applying the COGS review
criteria, but also to insure both that it is consistent with the goals of the Tax Section
to provide unbiased, thorough, and timely input, and that it is not inconsistent with Tax
Section policy. The Council Director will be personally responsible for the substantive
and editorial contents of written submissions. If the Council Director concludes that the
position expressed should not be submitted to the government as individual views of
members of the Tax Section, the Council Director will advise the Committee Chair and if,
together, they are unable to resolve the matter, they will brief the Section Chair who
will resolve the matter.
Cases of disagreement between the initial COGS reviewers and the Committee
Chair will be resolved by the COGS Chair and the Final Reviewer. In the event of their
failure to agree, the question will be decided by the VCGR [Vice Chair (Government
Relations)], or, if the Section Chair so decides, by the Section Chair. The VCGR and
Section Chair should be informed of significant disagreements which have arisen in the
review process whether or not they have been resolved.
The review procedure is intended to apply to substantive submissions and
not to normal correspondence. In cases of doubt, the COGS Chair or the VCGR should be
consulted. Copies of all non-routine government correspondence should be sent to the VCGR.
In the event of circumstances requiring expedited treatment for a
government submission, or in the event of other circumstances which in their judgment
shall make such action appropriate, the VCGR and Section Chair shall each have authority
to abbreviate normal review procedures and to eliminate any stage of review.
