Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues

Stevenson v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-137

On September 30, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Stevenson v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-137). The issue before the court in Stevenson v. Commissioner was whether the IRS Whistleblower Office abused its discretion in rejecting the petitioner’s claim on the ground that he did not provide information regarding any Federal tax violation. Background to Stevenson v. Commissioner Although there are some pro se petitioners who have surprised me with their legal acumen this year, Mr. Stevenson is not one of them. While others were playing chess, Mr. Stevenson was not even playing checkers; instead, he was rather intensely engaged in a game of charades with himself. In March 2019, the petitioner filed a Form 211 (Application for Award for Original Information). Whether he scrawled on the form with magic marker, leaving little doodles in the margins, or whether he generally made about as much…

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September 30, 2020
Business Related Issues
Tax Opinions / Business Related Issues / Memorandum Opinions

Lucero v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-136

On September 29, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Lucero v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-136). The issue before the court in Lucero v. Commissioner was whether the petitioners’ real estate loss deductions were disallowed by IRC § 469 and/or IRC § 280A. Background to Lucero v. Commissioner The petitioner-husband owned a short-term rental property in The Sea Ranch, California. To be clear, the property was not in Sea Ranch, mind you, but The Sea Ranch…lest there be any confusion with the rabble and riff-raff in Sea Ranch, California.  He rented the property to tenants for 146 nonconsecutive days in 2014 and 152 nonconsecutive days in 2015.  The petitioners paid a property management company to manage the property’s day-to-day rental operations, which included advertising to prospective tenants, collecting deposit fees and rent, maintaining and cleaning the property between stays, landscaping, assisting the petitioners in hiring…

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September 29, 2020
Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues

Neal v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-135

On September 28, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Neal v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-135). The issues before the court in Neal v. Commissioner were whether the IRS’s Whistleblower Office abused its discretion when it determined (a) that the petitioner’s claim should not be forwarded to Exam; (b) that the information provided did not result in the collection of any proceeds; and (c) as such, the petitioner was not entitled to a whistleblower award. Background to Neal v. Commissioner The petitioner worked for corporation, which petitioner claimed took several inappropriate write-downs on its debt portfolios. The petitioner filed a Form 211 in May 2014, but he omitted certain important information. Unfortunately for the petitioner, someone had beat him to the punch and previously filed a Form 211 alleging tax issues concerning the target corporation. The IRS denied the petitioner’s claim because the issue had…

1 Comment
September 28, 2020
Penalties Under the Code
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Penalties Under the Code

Patel v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-133

On September 22, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Patel v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-133). The primary issue before the court in Patel v. Commissioner was whether the IRS secured timely prior written supervisory approval for the penalties at issue as required by IRC § 6751(b)(1). The (Purported) Background in Patel v. Commissioner I enter this case with a fair bit of skepticism, due in toto to Judge Jones’ use of the word “purported” in two of the first three sentences.  This reminds me a bit too much of a criminal defense attorney interjecting “allegedly” when the prosecutor is saying that his clients stole a bag of cash from a bank, the ink stains and powder burns still remaining on the defendant’s hands from the exploding dye pack being Exhibit A of said theft.  Sorry…”alleged” theft. Allegedly, the petitioner-husband was an ophthalmologist and sole…

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September 22, 2020
Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues

Damiani v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-132

On September 17, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Damiani v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-132). The primary issue before the court in Damiani v. Commissioner was whether the IRS Whistleblower Office abused its discretion in rejecting the petitioner’s claim on the ground that she did not provide any information whatsoever regarding a federal tax violation. The Crazy Rears its Head Again in Damiani v. Commissioner Not to be done by Herr Alber and Herr Friedel, Frau Damiani, yet another foreign national residing in Germany, filed a whistleblower claim in May 2019, identifying two targets (1) German insurance company, and (2) the insurance company’s director. She alleged that the targets had committed fiduciary fraud, bond fraud, securities fraud, and identity theft, asserting that they had forged her name on insurance contracts and repeatedly demanded payments for insurance premiums that allegedly “disappear[ed].” She made allegations of money…

1 Comment
September 17, 2020
Procedural Issues
Tax Opinions / Memorandum Opinions / Procedural Issues

Friedel v. Commissioner
T.C. Memo. 2020-131

On September 17, 2020, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Friedel v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2020-131). The primary issue before the court in Friedel v. Commissioner was whether the IRS Whistleblower Office abused its discretion in rejecting a German national’s whistleblower claim against six targets, all of whom were officials within the German government on the basis that they had committed (inter alia) fiduciary fraud, breach of trust, bond fraud, identity theft, torture, abuse of power, corruption, and human trafficking and because they are “criminal Nazi judges and prosecutors.” The Rhine Runneth with the Crazy in Friedel v. Commissioner There must be something in the water in der hinterland, because this is the second case this year brought by a crazy German against other German nationals, accusing them of all sorts of crimes against humanity (but failing to allege that any such crimes, in any…

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September 17, 2020