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TAX COURT LOSS FOR TAX PROTEST FIGURE BANISTER

August 28, 2008

When we last saw tax protest figure Joe Banister in court, he had been acquitted of tax conspiracy charges by a California federal jury. Tax protesters did a little victory jig at this "evidence" that their theories are other than delusional.

As we've pointed out, beating criminal charges doesn't mean you don't have to pay the tax. The Tax Court demonstrated this to Mr. Banister yesterday. It appears that Mr. Banister, a former IRS agent and defrocked CPA, never got around to filing a 2002 tax return. The IRS computers noticed that Mr. Banister was issued 1099s for $23,325 pension income and $387 in interest income, and a notice of deficiency was issued.

Mr. Banister doesn't seem to have denied that he got the income; he instead tried to get off on technicalities, or something:

He argues that respondent (1) denied him proper due process -- including an Appeals conference -- before issuing the notice of deficiency; (2) denied him a proper notice of deficiency "based upon a true 'Deficiency'"; and (3) determined the deficiency incorrectly by failing to consider his "expenses, losses and deductions, and exclusions (both business and non-business)."

The Tax Court didn't buy it, not least because Mr. Banister never said what these "expenses, losses and deductions, and exclusions" were.

Given his prominence in the tax protest movement, it's a little surprising that the IRS doesn't seem to have done any more than a 1099 match examination of Mr. Banister. Perhaps he just lives frugally enough to get by on less than $24,000 in income.

Cite: Banister, T.C. Memo 2008-201.

Link.

Tags: tax court.tax protesters.