Charlotte's Office Boutique v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

CHARLOTTE’S OFFICE BOUTIQUE, 

INC.,

No. 04-71325 Petitioner-Appellant, v.  Tax Ct. No. 5077-

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL

OPINION

REVENUE,

Respondent-Appellee.  Appeal from a Decision of the United States Tax Court

Argued and Submitted July 11, 2005—Seattle, Washington

Filed October 7, 2005

Before: Procter Hug, Jr., Richard A. Paez, and Consuelo M. Callahan, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Callahan

13945 13948 CHARLOTTE’S OFFICE BOUTIQUE v. CIR

COUNSEL

Petitioner-appellant was represented by Robert E. Kovacevich of Spokane, Washington.

Respondent-appellee was represented by Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General, Thomas J. Clark, and Regina S. Moriarty of Washington, D.C.

OPINION

CALLAHAN, Circuit Judge:

On its face, this is an appeal by Charlotte’s Office Bou- tique, Inc., from the Tax Court’s determination that its royalty payments to Charlotte Odell, one of its two shareholders, were actually wages and that appellant was liable for employ- ment taxes on those wages and penalties. This appeal, how- ever, also raises a challenge to the Tax…