Joseph E. Simanonok - Page 11




                                       - 11 -                                         
                                       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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