Philip A. Duggan, Petitioner-Appellant,
v.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent-Appellee.
Submitted December 7, 2017 [*] Seattle, Washington
Appeal
from a Decision of the United States Tax Court Tax Ct. No.
4100-15 L
Philip
A. Duggan, Deer Park, Washington, pro se
Petitioner-Appellant.
Janet
A. Bradley, Robert W. Metzler, and Gilbert S. Rothenberg,
Attorneys; Caroline D. Ciarolo, Acting Assistant Attorney
General; Tax Division, United States Department of Justice,
Washington, D.C., for Respondent-Appellee.
Carlton M. Smith, New York, New York; Professor T. Keith
Fogg, Director, Harvard Federal Tax Clinic, Jamaica Plain,
Massachusetts; for Amicus Curiae Linda Jean Matuszak.
Before: Michael Daly Hawkins, M. Margaret McKeown, and Morgan
Christen, Circuit Judges.
SUMMARY
[**]
Tax
The
panel affirmed the Tax Court's dismissal of a petition
for review of two Internal Revenue Service Notices of
Determination, for lack of jurisdiction.
Petitioner
mistakenly counted the first day after the date of the
IRS's notices as day "zero" for purposes of
calculating the 30-day period for filing a petition for
review. The panel held that the 30-day deadline in I.R.C.
§ 6330(d)(1) is jurisdictional, and that
petitioner's failure to meet the deadline divested the
Tax Court of the power to hear his case and foreclosed any
argument for equitable tolling.
OPINION
CHRISTEN, Circuit Judge:
I.R.C.
§ 6330(d)(1) gives taxpayers aggrieved by an Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) determination thirty days to file a
petition for review in the Tax Court. Philip Duggan
mistakenly counted the first day after the date of the
IRS's determination as day "zero, " and filed
his petition for review on what was in fact the thirty-first
day. The Tax Court held that Duggan's failure to meet
§ 6330(d)(1)'s filing deadline deprived it of
jurisdiction to hear his case. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
The IRS
mailed to Duggan two Notices of Determination dated January
7, 2015, which proposed collection of unpaid income taxes for
2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Both notices informed Duggan that
he could dispute the IRS's determinations by
"fil[ing] a petition with the United States Tax Court
within a 30-day period beginning the day after the date of
this letter." The notices cautioned that §
6330(d)(1):
. . . limits the time for filing your petition to the 30-day
period mentioned above. The courts cannot consider your case
if you file late. If you file an appeal in an incorrect court
(e.g., United States District Court), you won't be able
to refile in the ...