112 STAT. 750 PUBLIC LAW 105-206—JULY 22, 1998 (1) IN GENERAL.— Section 7443(b) (relating to proceedings which may be assigned to special trial judges) is amended by striking "and" at the end of paragraph (3), by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5), and by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph: "(4) any proceeding under section 6320 or 6330, and". (2) AUTHORITY TO MAKE DECISIONS.— Section 7443(c) (relating to authority to make court decisions) is amended by striking "or (3)" and inserting "(3), or (4)". Applicability. (d) EFFECTIVE DATE. —The amendments made by this section 26 USC 6320 shall apply to collection actions initiated after the date which is ^°^- 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. PART II—EXAMINATION ACTIVITIES SEC. 3411. CONFIDENTIAUTY PRIVILEGES RELATING TO TAXPAYER COMMUNICATIONS. (a) IN GENERAL. —Chapter 77 (relating to miscellaneous provisions) is amended by adding at the end the following new section: "SEC. 7525. CONFIDENTIALITY PRIVILEGES RELATING TO TAXPAYER COMMUNICATIONS. "(a) UNIFORM APPLICATION TO TAXPAYER COMMUNICATIONS WITH FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED PRACTITIONERS.— "(1) GENERAL RULE.— With respect to tax advice, the same common law protections of confidentiality which apply to a communication between a taxpayer and an attorney shall also apply to a communication between a taxpayer and any federally authorized tax practitioner to the extent the communication would be considered a privileged communication if it were between a taxpayer and an attorney. "(2) LIMITATIONS. —Paragraph (1) may only be asserted in— "(A) any noncriminal tax matter before the Internal Revenue Service; and "(B) any noncriminal tax proceeding in Federal court brought by or against the United States. "(3) DEFINITIONS. — For purposes of this subsection— "(A) FEDERALLY AUTHORIZED TAX PRACTITIONER.— The term 'federally authorized tax practitioner' means any individual who is authorized under Federal law to practice before the Internal Revenue Service if such practice is subject to Federal regulation under section 330 of title 3^1, United States Code. "(B) TAX ADVICE. —The term 'tax advice* means advice given by an individual with respect to a matter which is within the scope of the individual's authority to practice described in subparagraph (A). "(b) SECTION NOT TO APPLY TO COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING CORPORATE TAX SHELTERS.—The privilege under subsection (a) shall not apply to any written communication between a federally authorized tax practitioner and a director, shareholder, officer, or employee, agent, or representative of a corporation in connection with the promotion of the direct or indirect participation of such corporation in any tax shelter (as defined in section 6662(d)(2)(C)(iii)).".
�
