Logan Trust v. Commissioner, IRS

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GRIFFITH.

GRIFFITH, Circuit Judge:

H.L. Mencken famously observed, “[TJhere is always an easy solution to every human problem — neat, plausible, and wrong.” H.L. Menoken, A Menoken Chbestomathy 448 (First Vintage Books 1982) (1949) (emphasis added). When first taken, this appeal presented a complex problem that has vexed the courts and for which there was no easy answer: whether and when the Tax Court may apply a penalty to a taxpayer who underpays his taxes by participating in a partnership that was nothing more than an intricate tax shelter. But an…