Ninth Circuit Rejects Inclusion of Reckless Conduct in Willful Requirement for § 6694(b)(2) Preparer Civil Penalty (6/25/19)

I and other commentators have lamented courts expansion of the concept for willful for the FBAR civil penalty that can be draconian (although the IRS limits its application as a matter of discretion).  Specifically, I and others have urged that the definition of willful for FBAR civil penalty purposes should be the same as the definition of willful in the parallel criminal proceedings (see Ratzlaf v. United States, 510 U.S. 135 (1994), adopting the Cheek standard (Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192, 200-201 (1991)) applicable for tax crimes). 

The courts have decided otherwise.  See e.g., today's other posting in Court Finds Taxpayer Willfully Failed to File FBARs (Federal Tax Crimes Blog 6/25/19), here.

In Rodgers v. United States (9th Cir. 6/21/2019) (unpublished), here.  The Court addressed another civil penalty with a statutory willful requirement.  The penalty was the § 6694(b) preparer penalty which provides:

(b) Understatement due to willful or reckless conduct
   (1) In general.  Any tax return preparer who prepares any return or claim for refund with respect to which any part of an understatement of liability is due to a conduct described in paragraph (2) shall pay a penalty with respect to each such return or claim in an amount equal to the greater of—
      (A) $5,000, or
      (B) 75 percent of the income derived (or to be derived) by the tax return preparer with respect to the return or claim.
   (2) Willful or reckless conduct.  Conduct described in this paragraph is conduct by the tax return preparer which is—
      (A) a willful attempt in any manner to understate the liability for tax on the return or claim, or
      (B) a reckless or intentional disregard of rules or regulations.

The district court in Rodgers defined “willful” in § 6694(b)(2)(A) to include “recklessness.”  Of course, reckless conduct under this statute must mean something different than willful, otherwise (b(2)(B) would be redundant, and certainly there is nothing in the statute to indicate a congressional understanding the reckless was included in the definition of willful.

The Court of Appeals reversed for the district court to determine whether the correct definition of willful would affect the outcome in some cases.  Addressing the correct definition of will, the Court said:

1. We agree with Rodgers that the district court applied the wrong definition of “willful” in § 6694(b)(2)(A). As we explained in Richey v. IRS, 9 F.3d 1407, 1411 (9th Cir. 1993), willfulness under § 6694(b)(2)(A) requires “a conscious act or omission made in the knowledge that a duty is therefore not being met.” Id. (quoting Pickering v. United States, 691 F.2d 853, 855 (8th Cir. 1982)).  We further noted that the definition of “willful” in § 6694(b) is the “same” as the definition used in 26 U.S.C. § 7206. Id. As the Supreme Court has explained, that definition does not include recklessness. See United States v. Bishop, 412 U.S. 346, 354 (1973).

The reason I call this case to readers' attention is that, like the 6694/7206 analogy, the FBAR willful civil penalty drawn in the same language as the criminal penalty for failure to file FBARs and other BSA violations.  The criminal violations clearly require intent to violate a known legal duty, conduct that is more than reckless conduct.  Yet the courts apply a different standard for BSA civil penalties (FBAR penalties here). The Courts may take some comfort for a more relaxed definition and burden of proof (e.g., preponderance rather than clear and convincing) because the penalty is civil and thus not as punitive as a criminal penalty which, so the notion goes, should require more egregious conduct (specific intent rather than reckless conduct).  Yet, the courts applying willful in the tax preparer civil penalty context reach what appear to be opposite conclusions. 

Of course, the FBAR willful penalty does not have a statutory alternative reckless standard like § 6694(b)(2).  But, I just wonder whether, if that alternative were not in § 6694(b)(2), the courts would have reached a different result (i.e., include reckless conduct in definition of willful) simply because a civil rather than a criminal penalty were involved.