The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (CFC) also hears tax refund cases and follows the Federal Rules of Evidence, which explicitly apply to this court under FRE 1101(a).
Procedural matters follow the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims (RCFC), which generally mirror the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
As in other courts, relevance is determined under FRE 401–403.
Key aspects of international tax cases in the CFC include:
* Discovery procedures are similar to those in the District Court.
* Only bench trials are held (no juries), which usually lowers concerns about prejudice under FRE 403.
* The court determines foreign law using principles like FRE 44.1, letting it consider any relevant source or material.
Recent international tax disputes in the CFC, like cases involving treaty-based foreign tax credit claims, commonly rely heavily on treaty texts, records of foreign tax payments, and expert economic analysis.
Across all three forums, relevance disputes frequently arise in situations such as:
Obtaining foreign evidence creates challenges. Practitioners often coordinate with the IRS Associate Chief Counsel (International) when seeking information via tax treaties or TIEAs. Discovery tools are limited in Tax Court but broader in District Court and the Court of Federal Claims.
Another important rule is IRC § 7491, which can shift the burden of proof to the IRS if the taxpayer presents credible and relevant evidence on factually related issues.
Finally, stipulations of fact, especially in the Tax Court, are strongly encouraged and often required to make the trial process easier and reduce disputes over relevance.