Edward J. Kosmal, and Nili H. Kosmal v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

The Kosmals appeal from a Tax Court decision upholding a determination by the Commissioner that the Kosmals’ contributions to the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA) may not be excluded from income. We affirm.

We have previously held that amounts deducted from base pay and deposited with the federal civil service retirement system are not excludable from income. Cohen v. Commissioner, 543 F.2d 725 (9th Cir. 1976). We agree with the Tax Court that there is no material distinction between contributions to the federal retirement system and contributions to LACERA and that the latter therefore may not be excluded. See Feistman v. Commissioner, 63 T.C. 129 (1974), appeal dismissed, 587 F.2d 941 (9th Cir. 1978).

The Kosmals contend that they have been deprived of due process and equal protection of the laws because some types of private pension plan contributions and other types of government employee benefits may be excluded from income. We do not agree. There are important distinctions in the degree of risk, purpose, and degree of voluntariness of state and local government pension plans versus private pension plans and other types of government employee…