Sunday, May 31, 2015

Ninth Circuit Says Don't Bother Us -- At Least We Won't Be Bothered (5/31/15)

In Carlson v. Commissioner, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 9010 (9th Cir. 2015), here the panel affirmed a taxpayer appeal from the Tax Court.  The Ninth Circuit opens with this line:  "Karen Lee Carlson, appeals pro se from the Tax Court's decision, following a bench trial, concerning her income tax liability for tax years 2001 through 2004."   In the next paragraph, the Court opens with this line:  Contrary to Carlson's contention, the Tax Court correctly concluded that Carlson had received taxable income, such as compensation for work performed for private companies, while she resided in Oregon and Washington."

Then, in the third paragraph the Court opens with this line:  "Moreover, the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding Charles Allen Harman's proposed testimony regarding statutes and case law."

I know that appeals from the Tax Court to the Court Appeals are covered by Section 7482, here, which says: "The United States Courts of Appeals (other than the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review the decisions of the Tax Court * * *  in the same manner and to the same extent as decisions of the district courts in civil actions tried without a jury; "  But that does not make the Tax Court a district court.

Somebody was asleep at the word processor.