Buckardt v. Commissioner , 474 F. App'x 612 ( 2012 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JUL 13 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ELMER JON BUCKARDT, No. 10-72898
Petitioner - Appellant, Tax Ct. No. 27949-07
v.
MEMORANDUM *
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL
REVENUE,
Respondent - Appellee.
Appeal from a Decision of the
United States Tax Court
Submitted June 26, 2012 **
Before: SCHROEDER, HAWKINS, and GOULD, Circuit Judges.
Elmer Jon Buckardt appeals pro se from the Tax Court’s decision upholding
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Services’s (“Commissioner”) notices of
deficiency against him for tax years 2003, 2004, and 2005. We have jurisdiction
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
under 26 U.S.C. § 7482(a)(1). We review de novo the Tax Court’s legal
conclusions, Ann Jackson Family Found. v. Comm’r, 15 F.3d 917, 920 (9th Cir.
1994), and for clear error its factual determinations, Hansen v. Comm’r, 471 F.3d
1021, 1028 (9th Cir. 2006). We affirm.
The Tax Court properly upheld the Commissioner’s deficiency
determinations because Buckardt failed to establish that the funds he stipulated to
receiving during each relevant year were not subject to taxation under the Tax
Code. See Hawkins v. United States, 30 F.3d 1077, 1079 (9th Cir. 1994) (“An
accession to wealth . . . is presumed to be taxable income, unless the taxpayer can
demonstrate that it fits into one of the Tax Code’s specific exemptions.”).
The Tax Court properly upheld the Commissioner’s addition to taxes for
Buckardt’s failure to timely file required tax returns for all three years and for his
failure to pay estimated taxes for 2004 and 2005. See 26 U.S.C. § 6651(a)(1)
(authorizing penalty not to exceed 25% of taxes owed for failure to file timely tax
returns unless the failure was “due to reasonable cause and not due to willful
neglect.”); id. § 6654(a) (imposing mandatory additions to tax for failing to pay
estimated quarterly tax payments).
Buckardt’s remaining contentions are unpersuasive.
The IRS’s motion for sanctions against Buckardt for pursuing a frivolous
2 10-72898
appeal is denied. See 28 U.S.C. § 1912; Fed. R. App. P. 38.
AFFIRMED.
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