The Internal Revenue Service has long been authorized to settle tax debts for less than the full amount owed under certain limited circumstances when doing so would serve the best interests of the government and the taxpayer.  The process begins with the taxpayer submitting an Offer in Compromise (OIC), which the IRS may or may not accept. The early 1950s was an era of extraordinarily high income tax rates.  Not surprisingly, there were tax evasion scandals during that period.  Evaders included Denis W. Delaney, who, as collector of internal revenue for Massachusetts, abused his authority by taking bribes to compromise tax debts.  When the Delaney scandal broke in 1952, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 10386, opening to public inspection OICs that are accepted by the IRS (with sensitive personal information redacted).  The Tax Reform Act of 1976 codified the terms of the executive order in Section 6103(k)(1) of the Internal Revenue...(Read Full Post)