Vagueness renders tax law void ESPECIALLY if it has no obvious meaning.
McGee ‘2k [Robert; December; Professor at Fayetteville State University, D.Univ. in Public Finance from the University of Debrecen, Dr.Oec. in Accounting from the University of Latvia, D.Sc. in Public Finance and Economic Development from Tartu University, Ph.D. in International Economics from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Ph.D. in Law from Manchester Metropolitan University, D.Phil. in Finance from the University of the West of England, Ph.D. in Applied Global Ethics from Leeds Metropolitan University, Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Suderland, Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Bradford, Ph.D. in Accounting, Taxation, and Economic History from the Union Institute and University, Ph.D. in Economics, Law, and Political Philosophy from the Union Institute and University, Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Warwick, B.S. in Business from Excelsior University, B.S.B.A. in Accounting from Thomas Edison State College, B.A. in Social Science from Thomas Edison State College, A.S. in Accounting from Thomas Edison State College, A.A. and A.S. in Liberal Arts from Excelsior University, J.D. from Cleveland State University, M.S.T. in Taxation from DePaul University, B.S. in Economics from Excelsior University, B.A. in Social Science from Gannon University; SSRN Electronic Journal, “Is the Internal Revenue Code Void for Vagueness? A Look at Some Economic, Legal and Ethical Issues,” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228132345_Is_the_Internal_Revenue_Code_Void_for_Vagueness_A_Look_at_Some_Economic_Legal_and_Ethical_Issues] pbk
Another issue, one that is perhaps more relevant, is what we should do with the tax code if we gave the same test to the “person of average intelligence,” who probably never even took an accounting course, much less a tax course? What if the average person who does not have a tax background misapplied the law in 15 or 18 of the 20 cases in this theoretical tax return? Could we then conclude that the tax code is void for vagueness? Or would we have to look at each particular provision in the code to determine which provisions could be understood and correctly applied by someone who does not have a tax background? If 40 percent of the people of common intelligence made a mistake involving a particular tax issue, would that percentage be sufficiently high to warrant voiding that provision of the tax Code? Or would more than 50 percent be required?
Perhaps it is time we looked more closely at the Void for Vagueness Doctrine to see whether it should be applied to the Internal Revenue Code, and under what circumstances it should be applied.18 Certainly, if a law is so complex that even professionals who specialize in that area of the law cannot apply the law correctly, there should be a presumption that, at the very least, the Code sections that they cannot apply correctly should be classified as void.