I’ve written about the Kanter case before (here , here, and here). In that case, the Tax Court reversed the finding of the trial court judge, and didn’t release the findings of the trial court judge. The case made its way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court remanded the case, with an order that the trial court judge’s findings be made public. The trial court judge found that there was no tax evasion; however, the tax court ruled that there was. After an intermediate stop at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (which ordered the Tax Court to make a ruling by February 2nd), the Tax Court came out with its ruling.
Now, given my cynical view of the world, how do you think the Tax Court would rule the second time around? Would it come out with a ruling in line with the trial court judge or a ruling similar to its own ruling? Yes, the Tax Court ruled that there was tax evasion, and that the lawyer (Burton Kanter, now deceased) accepted kickbacks from the Pritzker family, and evaded taxes on those kickbacks. The Pritzkers own the Hyatt Hotel chain.
The New York Times reports that attorneys for the three plan on appealing the decision. Given the history of the case, expect a return trip to the Supreme Court in 2008 or so.
Tags: Kanter