United States Federal Circuit

In a nursing home operators suit under the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C. section 1491(a)(1) claiming an income tax refund, alleging that the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) improperly refused tax credits under the "work opportunity" (WOTC) and "welfare-to-work" (WtW) tax credit programs, which were designed to encourage the hiring of employees from certain disadvantaged groups, the Claims Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the government is affirmed where: 1) taxpayers failed to meet the certification requirements necessary for tax credit eligibility; 2) certification errors by state authorities cannot be corrected in federal tax proceedings; and 3) if Congress had intended to excuse certification where the IRS had failed to provide clear guidance to the state agencies, it would have said so in the Code or authorized regulatory rules, and absent statutory or regulatory authority, this court will not rewrite the plain language of section 51(d)(2) in order to accommodate supposed equitable principles.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/21/2011
• Published 01/21/2011

Judges

• DYK

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• GREGORY C. GARRE, RICHARD FARBER