Opinion ID: 160974
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Enjoining the IRS

Text: 16 Having decided that the district court has no authority to determine the corporate tax liabilities in this case, this court must turn to the question of whether the district court may enjoin the IRS from determining the tax liabilities of the five corporations should the government fail to consider the corporate tax returns by the court- imposed deadline. The district court characterizes its order as an attempt to set deadlines and create procedures as it would for any party that comes before it. This court agrees, however, with the government's characterization of the district court's order as an attempt to enjoin the IRS from assessing and collecting taxes. 17 The Anti-Injunction Act provides that no suit for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax shall be maintained in any court by any person, whether or not such person is the person against whom such tax was assessed. 26 U.S.C. § 7421(a). The Act specifically divests the district court of jurisdiction in order to prevent pre-assessment judicial interference. See Wyo. Trucking Ass'n, Inc., 82 F.3d at 933. A statutory framework exists for the determination of taxes by the IRS. See, e.g., 26 U.S.C. §§ 6201(a) (authorizing and requiring the government to make the inquiries, determinations, and assessments of all taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code), 6501(a) (requiring the government to assess tax liabilities within three years of tax return filing). The district court may not assist a taxpayer in bypassing these procedures by imposing deadlines upon the government simply because the IRS is a party before it. Accordingly, this court concludes the district court lacks the jurisdiction to enjoin the IRS from assessing and collecting taxes for failure to expedite its determination of taxes.