Wheeler v. CommissionerWheeler v. Commissioner
Case Information
*1 Before HARTZ , Circuit Judge, HOLLOWAY and PORFILIO , Senior Circuit Judges.
Petitioner Charles Raymond Wheeler appeals from a Tax Court decision finding him liable for (1) income-tax deficiencies for the years 2002, 2004, and 2005; (2) additions to tax for those years under 26 U.S.C. 6651(a)(1) (failure to file return), id. 6651(a)(2) (failure to pay amount shown as tax on return), and *2 id. § 6654(a) (failure to pay estimated tax); and (3) a sanction in the amount of $25,000 under id. § 6673(a). We exercise jurisdiction under 26 U.S.C. § 7483 [1] and affirm.
Mr. Wheeler does not claim to have filed returns for the years in question, or to have paid taxes owing for those years, yet he urges this court to overturn the Tax Court’s decision and determine that he has no liability. He contends that the Commissioner did not prove that he had failed to file returns, did not carry the burden of production on the additions to tax, and did not create a valid substitute return under 26 U.S.C. § 6020 to support the taxes and additions imposed. In addition, he claims that the Tax Court judge was biased against him. We address the merits before turning to judicial bias.
Failure to File
As best we can understand Mr. Wheeler’s briefing, he is contesting the
failure-to-file finding on the ground that the Commissioner did not submit a Form
*3
3050 (“Certification of Lack of Record”), which he claims “is the single form
created by the [Commissioner] for the express purpose of validating the
non-existence of a record, i.e., no return was filed.” Aplt. Opening Br. at 19.
Instead, the Commissioner submitted a Form 4340 (“Certificate of Assessments,
Payments, and Other Specified Matters”), showing no entry for a taxpayer return
and the Commissioner’s creation of a “Substitute for Return” (SFR), for each of
the tax years at issue. The Tax Court has repeatedly confirmed that a Form 4340
can provide the basis for finding that a taxpayer has not filed a return.
See, e.g.
,
Hazel v. Comm’r
,
A Form 4340 is a literal transcript containing tax data from an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) master file associated with a particular taxpayer. An IRS master file is opened by the filing of a tax return or (when a taxpayer has not filed a return) by the Commissioner’s creating a substitute for return (SFR). Therefore, a Form 4340 contains return filing information, such as whether a return has been filed or an SFR has been prepared. Such information is one of the “other matters” described in the title of the Form 4340.
Id. at 3 (citations omitted). Where, as here, “the IRS master file and thus the Form 4340 were opened by the preparation of the SFR . . . and there is no entry indicating petitioner filed a timely return,” a finding that the petitioner did not file a return is proper. Id. Mr. Wheeler has not cited any contrary authority to persuade us to question the precedent of the Tax Court on this point.
Mr. Wheeler advances several meritless objections to the Form 4340 itself. He complains that the attached “Certificate of Official Record” (Form 2866) “does not certify the content of the record” reflected in the Form 4340 transcript, but only “states it is a ‘true Form 4340.’” Aplt. Opening Br. at 22. But the Form 4340 concludes with its own certification “that the foregoing transcript of the taxpayer named above in respect to the taxes specified is a true and complete transcript for the period stated” and “that the other specified matters set forth in this transcript appear in the official records of the Internal Revenue Service.” T.C. R. Exs. 7-R at 3, 8-R at 3, and 9-R at 3. Mr. Wheeler also argues that the SFR used to open the master file reflected on the Form 4340 was deficient as an SFR –that is, for purposes of assessing taxes and additions to tax. This objection, however, misses the point of the Form 4340 and the significance of the SFR notation here, which is just to show that no tax return was filed by the taxpayer, not to establish his assessed tax liabilities. For the former purpose, the Form 4340 is sufficient (and for the latter, as we discuss shortly, the Commissioner does not rely on the SFR noted on the form).
Finally, Mr. Wheeler points to various (assertedly) irregular notations on
the Form 4340 that he insists “go to the credibility of the records, the system(s)
and certifying officer/employees involved,” Aplt. Opening Br. at 23, and appears
to argue that, as a derivative document relating to the contents of the master file,
it should be discounted as not the “best evidence” of the matters reflected in it,
id.
*5
at 24. To the extent that the latter point is an objection to the admission of the
Form 4340, we review the matter solely for an abuse of discretion,
see Kurzet v.
Comm’r
,
Additions to Tax
Under 6651(a)(1) the failure to file returns triggers an addition to tax “unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.” Mr. Wheeler never attempted to demonstrate such cause. Thus, *6 the Tax Court’s finding that he failed to file a return–which we affirm for reasons explained above–suffices to render him liable for the resultant statutory addition to tax.
More is required, however, to impose the addition to tax in § 6651(a)(2) for
failure to pay the tax shown on a return. As § 6651(a)(2) “applies only when an
amount of tax is
shown on a return
,”
Wheeler v. Comm’r
,
Although 6020(b) does not specify what a qualifying return must contain,
the Tax Court has consistently held that a 6020(b) return “must be subscribed, it
must contain sufficient information from which to compute the taxpayer’s tax
*7
liability, and the return . . . must purport to be a return.”
Mooney v. Comm’r
,
Mr. Wheeler appears to argue that the Commissioner nevertheless may not rely on these otherwise proper § 6020(b) returns because they were predated by the SFRs noted on the Form 4340–in other words, once a “dummy” SFR is used to open a master file for a case lacking a filed return, the Commissioner cannot thereafter prepare a qualifying § 6020(b) return. He offers no authority for this irrational proposition and we decline to impose such a limitation on the practical processing of tax cases.
The remaining addition to tax was imposed under § 6654 for failure to pay estimated income tax. Mr. Wheeler does not present any independent argument with respect to this addition to tax, which, as the Commissioner explains, is fully supported by the 6020(b) returns discussed above and additional evidence in the record negating exceptions to the addition to tax set out in 6654(e).
In sum, the Commissioner properly assessed deficiencies and additions to tax based on the qualifying 6020(b) returns in the record. And, as Mr. Wheeler did not separately challenge the $25,000 sanction imposed under 6673, there is no basis for disturbing that part of the Tax Court decision. We turn now to Mr. Wheeler’s claim that the Tax Court judge was biased against him.
Judicial Bias/Due Process
Mr. Wheeler insists that Tax Court Judge Cohen demonstrated a bias
against him in her rulings and in some of her statements to him on the record. Of
course, adverse rulings alone do not establish bias.
Bixler v. Foster
, 596 F.3d
751, 762 (10th Cir. 2010). “Likewise, a judge’s ordinary efforts at courtroom
administration, even if stern and short-tempered, are immune from charges of bias
and partiality.”
United States v. Nickl
,
We note, with some concern, that after Judge Cohen issued her opinion, the clerk, at her direction, refused to file Mr. Wheeler’s pleading captioned “Petitioner’s Motion to Reconsider” on the ground that it should have been captioned “Motion for Reconsideration of Opinion.” Nevertheless, he was later *10 permitted to resubmit the pleading and, given that we have found no error in the original opinion, we see no prejudice to Mr. Wheeler.
Appellate Sanction
The Commissioner has filed a motion for sanctions against Mr. Wheeler for
filing a frivolous appeal maintained primarily for delay. We previously approved
a lump-sum sanction of $4,000 against Mr. Wheeler in another frivolous appeal,
see Wheeler v. Comm’r
,
The judgment of the Tax Court is AFFIRMED. The Commissioner’s motion for sanctions is GRANTED and a lump-sum sanction of $6,000 is awarded.
Entered for the Court Harris L Hartz Circuit Judge
Notes
[*] After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
[1] In supplemental briefing on the issue, both parties acknowledged that this
appeal is timely even though the notice of appeal was not docketed by the Tax
Court until December 3, 2010, three days beyond the 90 days allowed for appeal
by 26 U.S.C. 7483. Under 26 U.S.C. 7502 the notice of appeal was timely
when mailed on November 24, 2010–as established by a confirmation number
from the United States Postal Service. Because the notice of appeal was timely,
we need not consider the alternative point, suggested by the Commissioner, that
Mr. Wheeler’s motion to vacate, which was untimely but was nevertheless
accepted and denied on the merits by the Tax Court in early November, further
extended the time for appeal.
See Nordvik v. Comm’r
,