Cleveland v. Commissioner

Robert Cleveland filed a petition in the Tax Court with the idea of keeping the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) from increasing the amount of income tax withheld from his wages. His legal theory parrots a claim now making the rounds in the courts. The Tax Court dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. We affirm that decision.

After concluding that Cleveland’s employer was not withholding enough income tax from his paychecks, the IRS invalidated the Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, on file for Cleveland. The IRS notified the employer, using Form Letter…