On 18 January 2023, Robin Greenhouse, the Large Business and International (LB&I) Division Counsel, stated at a meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation that examiners still must consult with IRS counsel before asserting related penalties related to the economic substance doctrine (ESD).1 The statement follows an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decision to no longer require IRS examiners to obtain executive-level approval in order to assert the ESD under Internal Revenue Code2 Section 7701(o) during an audit (see EY Tax Alert, IRS will consider applying the economic substance doctrine and related penalties more frequently in transfer pricing audits, dated 29...