TAYLOR v. USA

Filing 10

UNREPORTED OPINION. granting 6 Motion to Dismiss - Rule 12(b)(1) The Clerk is directed to enter judgment. Signed by Judge Patricia E. Campbell-Smith. (ac7) (Certified Mail# 7018 0040 0001 1393 4755) Service on parties made.

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Pro Se Complaint; Dismissal for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction; RCFC 12(b)(l); Claim Challenging Liens Filed by the Internal Revenue Service and Other Tax Collection Efforts: Tax Refund Claim. Defendant. Byron L. Taylor, West Yellowstone, MT, pro se. Margaret E. Sheer, Attorney, with whom were Richard E. Zuckerman, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, and David I. Pincus, Chiel United States Department of Justice, Tax Division, Court of Federal Claims Section, Washington, DC. OPINION CAMPBELL-SMITH, Judge. This matter is before the court on defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint, brought under Rule l2(b)(1) of the Rules of the United States Court of Federal Claims (RCFC). This motion has been fully briefed, as follows: defendant's motion, ECF No. 6; plaintiff s response, ECF No. 7; and, defendant's reply, ECF No. 8. For the reasons set forth below, defendant's motion is GRANTED. I. Background On May 21,2019, Mr. Byron Taylor frled suit in this court against the United States, requesting a judgment in his favor in the amount of $102,694.75 and describing his claim as one founded on the government'taking plaintifPs assets without jurisdiction." ECF No. 1 at2,4 (complaint). The types of government actions discussed in the complaint are all actions taken by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including I According to defendant, the penalties and interest assessed by the IRS stem from a series of "frivolous" amended tax returns for tax years 2010,2011, and20l2 that plaintiff filed in 2014 and2015. ECF No. 6 at2-3. allegations in the complaint to be true and construe all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232,236 (1974), abrogated on other grounds by Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982); Reynolds v. Army & Air Force Exch. Sery., 846F.2d746,747 (Fed. Cir. 1988). However, plaintiff bears the burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction, Alder Terrace. Inc. v. United States, 161 F.3d 1372,1377 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (citing McN.utt v. Ger\. Motors Acceptance Corp. of Ind., 298 U.S. 178, 189 (1936)), and must do so by a preponderance of the evidence, Reynplds, 846F.2d at748 (citations omitted). Ifjurisdiction is found to be lacking, this court must dismiss the action. RCFC l2(h)(3). This court's jurisdiction, based on the Tucker Act, is a granl of 'Jurisdiction to render judgment upon any claim against the United States founded either upon the Constitution, or any Act of Congress or any regulation of an executive department, or upon any express or implied contract with the United States, or for liquidated or unliquidated damages in cases not sounding in tort." 28 U.S.C. $ 1491(a)(1) (2012). m. Analysis A. The Court Does Not Have Jurisdiction to Hear Plaintiff s Claim Related to the Liens Filed by the IRS or Other Types of Tax Collection by the IRS In the complaint, a portion of the judgment Mr. Taylor seeks is attributed to "counterfeit securities," plaintiff s term for the lien or liens filed against his property by the IRS. ECF No. I at2;ECF No. l-I at ll-12. Another portion of the judgment plaintiff seeks is for the IRS actions, "CP [4]9 Notices," which paid some tax liabilities 1or tax years 2010,2011 and 2012 through the application of his tax overpayments in later tax years. ECF No. I at2;ECF No. l-l at 29-35. As defendant argues, however, this court does not have jurisdiction over a challenge to IRS liens, or for claims requesting damages related to IRS collection practices. ECF No. 6 at7 (citing 26 U.S.C. gg 7a26(a)(t),7432(a),7433(a) (2012);Ledford v. United States,297 F.3d 1378,1382 * (peO. Cir.2,002); Zolman v. United States, No. 17-1901T, 2018 WL 1664690, at I (Fed. Cl. Apr. 6,2018)). These authorities show that plaintiff s requests for relief related to liens and other collection activities of the IRS are not within the jurisdiction of this court. Thus, plaintiff s claim for these damages must be dismissed. B. The Court Does Not Have Jurisdiction to Hear Plaintiff s Tax Refund Claim, Styled as the "Taking of Plaintiff s Assets Without Jurisdiction" Plaintiff clearly indicates his disagreement with the validity of his tax liabilities for tax years 2010,2011, and2012, as asserted by the IRS in the form of penalties and interest. ECF No. I at2;ECF No. l-1 at l, 13-35. AlthoughMr. Taylor describes these tax liabilities as a taking of his assets without jurisdiction, IRS assessments of tax liability do not provide the basis for a takings claim. E.g., Skillo v. United States, 68 Fed. Cl. 734,743 (2005). Plaintiff s claim is, by its nature, a tax refund claim, and the court must apply binding precedent to determine whether Mr. Taylor's tax refund claim is within this court's jurisdiction. The principal impediment to plaintiff s tax refund claim, as evidenced by the documents attached to the complaint, is that he has not satisfied the "full payment" rule, which requires that ataxpayer pay the tax assessed by the IRS before bringing a tax refund claim in this court. See. e.9., Shore v. United States, 9 F.3d 1524,1525-27 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (setting forth the history of the full payment rule). As the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stated, when the taxpayer "has not yet paid the assessed tax for which he seeks a refund, the trial court is without jurisdiction to hear his claim for a refund." Ledford,297 F .3d at 1382. Following Ledford, this court must dismiss Mr. Tavlor's tax refund claim. Conclusion Mr. Taylor does not bring claims over which this court has jurisdiction. Accordingly, defendant's motion to dismiss, ECF No. 6, is GRANTED. The clerk's office is directed to ENTER final judgment in favor of defendant DISMISSING plaintiff s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, without prejudice.2 2 Transfer of plaintiff s claims to a federal district court would not be in the interest ofjustice. As noted by defendant, plaintiff s claims and legal arguments follow a pattern of frivolous challenges to tax liabilities assessed by the IRS. See ECF No. 6 at 4 n.l (listing similar cases); ECF No. 8 at l-2 (comparing this case to other tax protestor cases).

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