Hey, we have at least one lawmaker who knows LaTeX!
What is this "LaTeX" you speak of? Surely you must mean
.
The point I am less clear on is where the IRS forms data ultimately ends up; I am guessing it is input data to some software at the IRS that analyzes for correctness. If so, the ultimate end process is computer based, not English language based.
As you say, the IRS likely uses a computer program to process tax returns. However, this computer program merely reflects
the position of the IRS; the computer program does not represent the "ultimate end" to the determination of a taxpayer's liability. In the end, it is the responsibility of the courts to "say what the law is",
Marbury v. Madison,
5 US (1 Cranch) 137, 177 (1803), not the responsibility of the IRS. As such, a taxpayer is generally entitled to have her tax liability determined by the ordinary civil courts. The courts will figure the tax by applying the English language authorities, not by running a computer program. Thus, the "ultimate end process" is indeed English-language based, not "computer based".
Incidentally, this discussion of the use of computer programs by administrative officials reminds me of an interesting court case,
May v. Ferndale Institution,
2005 SCC 82, [2005] 3 SCR 809. The case concerned several prisoners who were incarcerated for life in a minimum-security prison. However, at some point, the prison officials developed a risk assessment computer program to evaluate the danger posed by each inmate. The program determined that certain prisoners should be transferred from the minimum-security prison to a medium-security prison. This transfer was then implemented. The prisoners who had been transferred applied to the courts for
habeas corpus on the grounds that, according to the prisoners, it was unlawful to detain them in the medium-security prison based on the results of an undisclosed computer program. The lower courts dismissed the application, but the Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal of the prisoners and reversed the lower courts. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, the correctional authorities acted beyond their jurisdiction in transferring the prisoners on the basis of the computer program. The Supreme Court ordered the correctional authorities to return the prisoners to the minimum-security facility.
