TAX COURT OPINION

Case: Eric J. Mata
Docket Number: 7506-10
Judge: Thornton
Opinion Type: bench
Filed: 04/14/2011
Pages: 4

UNITED STATES TAX COURT WA SHINGTON, DC 20217 ERIC J. MATA, Petitioner, v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) O R D E R Docket No. 7506-10. Pursuant to Rule 152(b), Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, it is ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall transmit herewith the pages of the to petitioner and to respondent a copy of transcript of Thornton at Portland, Oregon, on March 14, 2011, containing his oral the conclusion of the trial. the trial in the above case before Judge Michael B. fact and opinion rendered at findings of In accordance with the oral findings of fact and opinion, decision will be entered for respondent. (Signed) Michael B. Thornton Judge Dated: Washington, D.C. April 14, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 BENCH OPINION BY JUDGE MICHAEL B. THORNTON ERIC J. MATA V. COMMISSIONER DOCKET NO.: 7506-10 MARCH 14, 2011 THE COURT: The Court has decided to render I oral findings of fact and opinion in this case and the following represents the Court's oral findings of fact and opinion. Except as otherwise provided by Rule 152(c) of the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure, the oral findings of fact and opinion shall not be relied upon as precedent. This Bench Opinion is made pursuant to the authority granted by Section 7459(b) and Rule 152. Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code in effect for the taxable years at issue. Rule references are to the Tax Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. This case was tried on March 14, 2011, in Portland, Oregon. Petitioner appeared pro se . Amy B. Ulmer represented respondent with the assistance of Liddell Steele. Respondent determined a deficiency of $974.00 in Petitioner's 2007 Federal income taxes. The issue for decision is whether petitioner is liable for the deficiency determined by respondent. Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 4 I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Findings of fact. By notice of deficiency dated December 21, 2009, respondent determined that petitioner had received a total of $7,795 in unreported taxable wages from three employers, using information reported by those employers on Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. When he filed his petition, petitioner resided in Texas. Discussion. Generally, the Commissioner's determination of a taxpayer's liability for an income tax deficiency is presumed correct, and the taxpayer bears the burden of proving it incorrect. See Rule 142(a). Petitioner has failed to raise any issue with respect to the amount of his income or the correct amount of his tax liability. The sole issue raised by petitioner is that a volunteer service prepared his tax return for him and as a result the deficiency is not his fault but is the responsibility of the volunteer service. Fault is irrelevant, however, in this deficiency case, where we must decide only the amount of the deficiency in petitioner's Federal income tax. See sec. 6213(a). The basic formula for determining the amount of a deficiency is to determine the correct amount of tax and reduce it by the amount of tax reported by the taxpayer on the return. For purposes of determining a deficiency, it is immaterial Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 I 5 who prepared the return. The amount of tax reported on the return is not conclusive of the correct amount of tax. We review that issue de novo. Greenberg's Express, Inc. v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 324, 328 (1974). Petitioner has failed to raise any issue with respect to the correctness of respondent's determination. Accordingly, we sustain respondent's determination. Decision will be entered for respondent. This concludes the Court's findings of fact and opinion in this case. (Whereupon, at 2:52 p.m., the bench opinion in the above-entitled matter was concluded.) // // // // // // // // // // // // Heritage Reporting Corporation (202) 628-4888