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OPINION8
A. Military Retirement Income
Petitioner contends that the taxation of his military
retirement pay is “a fraudulent claim for federal pension
benefits” and “that the IRS can’t tax the Armed Forces * * * or
make adjudications.” Essentially, petitioner contends that his
military retirement pay is exempt from income tax. We disagree;
petitioner’s contention is wrong, and it is frivolous.
Section 61(a)(11) expressly defines gross income to include
pensions. Petitioner’s military retirement pay constitutes a
pension within the meaning of that section. See, e.g., Eatinger
v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1990-310 (“A military retirement
pension, like other pensions, is simply a right to receive a
future income stream from the retiree’s employer.”); Howell v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1981-631 (holding that military pensions
are taxable income to the recipients); sec. 1.61-11, Income Tax
Regs. (“Pensions and retirement allowances paid either by the
Government or by private persons constitute gross income unless
excluded by law.”).
8 As a preliminary matter, we note that we decide the
issues in this case without regard to the burden of proof. In
any event, we note that sec. 7491 does not apply to this case
because the examination of petitioner’s 1996 taxable year
commenced no later than January 1998. See Internal Revenue
Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-206,
secs. 3001(a), (c)(1), 112 Stat. 726-727.
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