United States v. Stein

Defendant appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the United States for unpaid federal income taxes, late penalties, and interest accrued, arguing that the district court erred because her affidavit created a genuine factual dispute about whether she had paid the taxes and penalties owed. Reviewing de novo, the court concluded that the district court did not err by entering summary judgment in favor of the United States where the United States submitted copies of defendant's federal tax returns, transcripts of her accounts for tax years 1996 and 1999 through 2002, and an affidavit from an IRS officer that established defendant had outstanding tax assessments. In this case, the evidence created a presumption that the assessments were proper and shifted the burden to defendant to rebut the presumption with evidence that the assessments were erroneous. The court concluded that defendant's affidavit failed to create a genuine factual dispute about the validity of the assessments, and defendant's general and self-serving assertions that she paid the taxes owed and related late penalties for tax years 1996 and 1999 through 2002 failed to rebut the presumption established by the assessments. The court vacated the part of the judgment addressing the amount of defendant's assessments and remanded for the district court to credit her payment and to recalculate her assessment for tax year 1996. The court affirmed the entry of summary judgment regarding defendant's liability. View "United States v. Stein" on Justia Law