Supreme Court Suggests IRS Went Too Far in Tax Enforcement Case

The Internal Revenue Service headquarters building in Washington, is seen in a file photo. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Supreme Court seemed generally sympathetic to the claim of the wife of a delinquent taxpayer that the IRS had gone too far in her case in secretly summonsing third-party bank records.

Throughout the hearing on March 29, the justices acknowledged the Internal Revenue Service needs tools to pursue delinquent accounts but suggested that potential abuses need to be guarded against.