NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MAR 10 2020
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
BRENT JACKSON, No. 18-71248
Petitioner-Appellant, Tax Ct. No. 9099-17
v.
MEMORANDUM*
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL
REVENUE,
Respondent-Appellee.
Appeal from a Decision of the
United States Tax Court
Submitted March 3, 2020**
Before: MURGUIA, CHRISTEN, and BADE, Circuit Judges.
Brent Jackson appeals pro se from the Tax Court’s order dismissing for
failure to state a claim his petition challenging the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue’s notice of tax deficiency for the 2011 tax year. We have jurisdiction
under 26 U.S.C. § 7482(a)(1). We review de novo. Grimes v. Comm’r, 806 F.2d
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
1451, 1453 (9th Cir. 1986). We affirm.
The Tax Court properly dismissed Jackson’s petition for failure to state a
claim because Jackson failed to set forth “a clear and concise assignment” of error
or any facts demonstrating error in the Commissioner’s determinations. T.C.R.
36(b)(4); Urban v. Comm’r, 964 F.2d 888, 889-890 (9th Cir. 1992) (noting that the
requirements of the Internal Revenue Manual are “not mandatory”); Hughes v.
United States, 953 F.2d 531, 536 (9th Cir. 1992) (explaining that “[t]he delegation
of authority down the chain of command, from the Secretary, to the Commissioner
of Internal Revenue, to local IRS employees constitutes a valid delegation by the
Secretary to the Commissioner, and a redelegation by the Commissioner to the
delegated officers and employees”); see also United States v. Hanson, 2 F.3d 942,
945 (9th Cir. 1993) (rejecting the argument that a natural born citizen of a state is
not subject to the tax code); United States v. Buras, 633 F.2d 1356, 1361 (9th Cir.
1980) (explaining that “the Sixteenth Amendment is broad enough to grant
Congress the power to collect an income tax regardless of the source of the
taxpayer’s income”).
We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued
in the opening brief. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).
2 18-71248
Jackson’s motion to take judicial notice (Docket Entry No. 10) is denied as
moot. Jackson’s motion to correct his address and the case caption (Docket Entry
No. 11) is granted in part to update his current mailing address on file with the
court but denied in all other respects. Jackson’s request for an evidentiary hearing,
set forth in the opening brief, is denied.
AFFIRMED.
3 18-71248