Jeff Blau, Tax Matters Partner of RERI Holdings I, LLC v. Commissioner of IRS

Ginsburg, Senior Circuit Judge:

RERI Holdings, LLC (RERI) claimed a charitable contribution deduction of $ 33 million on its 2003 federal tax return. The Internal Revenue Service determined that RERI was not entitled to this deduction and imposed a 40% penalty for underpayment of tax. RERI unsuccessfully challenged both rulings before the Tax Court, and now appeals to this court on a variety of grounds. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the Tax Court.

I. Background

At a high level of generality, the facts of this case are simple: RERI acquired and donated a future…