Autumn DeCrow v. North Dakota Workforce Safety

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 16-3255
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Bryon B. Nevius
lllllllllllllllllllllAppellant
v.
Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service
lllllllllllllllllllllAppellee
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Appeal from The United States Tax Court
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Submitted: July 6, 2017
Filed: July 27, 2017
[Unpublished]
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Before BENTON, BOWMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Bryon Nevius appeals a decision of the tax court, which dismissed his petition1
challenging a notice of deficiency issued by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
and upheld the assessments set forth in the notice of deficiency. The Commissioner
The Honorable Michael B. Thornton, Chief Judge, United States Tax Court.1

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urges affirmance, and has moved for sanctions on appeal. Having jurisdiction under
26 U.S.C. § 7482(a)(1), this court affirms.
After careful review, this court concludes that the tax court properly dismissed
the petition, as courts have repeatedly rejected Nevius’s boilerplate tax-protester
arguments. See Campbell v. Comm’r, 164 F.3d 1140, 1142 (8th Cir. 1999) (standards
of review for tax court decisions); Shenker v. Comm’r, 804 F.2d 109, 114 n. 6 (8th
Cir. 1986) (courts have uniformly upheld the constitutionality of the tax court);
United States v. Jagim, 978 F.2d 1032, 1036 (8th Cir. 1992) (rejecting defendant’s
argument--that he was citizen of Republic of Idaho, and therefore not subject to
federal income tax--as “completely without merit, [and] patently frivolous”).
Finally, this court may award “just damages” and single or double costs if it
determines that an appeal is frivolous. 28 U.S.C. § 1912; Fed. R. App. P. 38. In this
case, sanctions are appropriate. See United States v. Gerads, 999 F.2d 1255, 1256-57
(8th Cir. 1993) (per curiam) (rejecting the argument that “Free Citizens of the
Republic of Minnesota” were not subject to taxation; granting government’s motion
for sanctions for frivolous appeal).
The judgment is affirmed, and this court grants the Commissioner’s motion for
sanctions in the amount of $5,000.
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