United States v. Wealth and Tax

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, No. 06-55915 v.  D.C. No.

CV-05-08796-DDP

WEALTH AND TAX ADVISORY

SERVICES, INC., OPINION

Defendant-Appellee.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Dean D. Pregerson, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted April 8, 2008—Pasadena, California

Filed May 15, 2008

Before: Cynthia Holcomb Hall, Thomas G. Nelson, and Barry G. Silverman, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam Opinion Eileen J. O’Connor, Robert W. Metzler, and Gretchen M. Wolfinger, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the plaintiff-appellant.

David Jacobs and Deanna L. Ballesteros, Epstein Becker & Green, Los Angeles, California, for the defendant-appellee.

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

We hold today that a 29-page “draft opinion letter” sent by the taxpayers’ accountants to the taxpayers’ tax lawyers, con- taining extensive legal authority and analysis of a complicated tax transaction, constitutes a “memorandum.” Therefore, even though the letter was characterized as a…