Opinion
16514-21W
07-26-2022
KIRELL F. BETTIS-TAYLOR, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent
ORDER OF DISMISSAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
Kathleen Kerrigan, Chief Judge
In this case petitioner seeks review of a notice of determination under section 7623 concerning whistleblower action. The notice of determination on which this case is based states: "The Whistleblower Office has made a final decision to reject your claim for an award. The claim has been rejected because the IRS decided not to pursue the information you provided."
By opinion issued January 11, 2022, in the case of Li v. Commissioner, 22 F.4th 1014 (D.C. Cir. 2022), the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (to which all whistleblower cases under I.R.C. section 7623 are appealable pursuant to I.R.C. section 7482(b)(1)) held that the Tax Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction of whistleblower cases, such as this one, in which the IRS rejects the whistleblower claim and therefore does not commence any administrative or judicial proceeding based on the whistleblower's information. By Order issued April 1, 2022, proceedings in this case were stayed pending the final outcome of Li v. Commissioner. On May 31, 2022, petitioner filed a Motion to Dismiss, requesting that this case be dismissed in light of the above-referenced ruling in Li v. Commissioner. The court of appeals' judgment in Li v. Commissioner is now final.
Accordingly, upon due consideration of the foregoing, it is
ORDERED that petitioner's Motion to Dismiss is granted in that this case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.