Of course, the courts and the IRS have been knocking out "abusive tax shetlers" for some time now but the pressure for more revenue is likely to persuade Congress to write the rules into law, reports the New York. Times. The rule that will be codified requires that a transaction have "economic substance" and a legitimate business purpose or else it will be ruled an illegal tax shelter.

All manner of experts tell the paper that if Congress makes the doctrine a statute, it will ultimately make it easier for tax lawyers to find a way around the specific words the law uses. Implicitly, they’re saying, that leaving it to the courts and the IRS will allow the doctrine to be stretched and changed as new shelters are developed.

Still, the movement to write it into law is gaining traction because it promises a large amount of revenue to a Congress that has promised to pay as it goes. And that extra tax money will come in handy in meeting that goal.

And while we’re talking about tax shelters, take a look at this story in USA Today. It details the role of Asset Protection Group, a Nevada corporation that is accused of helping tax and court judgment evasion by hiding assets in fake companies. The circumstantial evidence here sure looks pretty damning.