Hansen

BACKGROUND

Holding strongly held religious beliefs against having or using an SSN or being involved in the social security system, Hansen sought an exemption from self-employment social security taxes pursuant to § 1402(g). Hansen was denied the exemption because the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service determined he did not meet § 1402(g)’s eligibility requirements. A United States citizen, Hansen was also denied an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (“ITIN”) because ITINs are available only to individ- 1 Although Hansen, an attorney, filed his complaint pro se, he was there- after represented by counsel. HANSEN v. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 5161 uals who are not citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the United States. See 26 C.F.R. § 301.6109-1(d)(4).

Hansen thereafter filed the complaint at issue, alleging, inter alia, that he has strong religious beliefs against having an SSN, that there is no law requiring him or his son “to get or have a social security number,” and that requiring his son to have an SSN in order to claim a tax deduction violates the First Amendment. Hansen’s complaint further alleged that, “since [he]…