Taking my cue from the greeting in the old Montreal Forum, here’s the Tax Court’s latest bright light, Judge Albert G. Lauber, summa cum laude from Yale, with a M.A. from Clare College Cambridge, etc. etc., appointed to Tax Court January 31, 2013, the newest star in the Tax Court line-up.  Most impressive resume, and should be a fine addition to the Tax Court Bench.

Hopefully, he will not be wasting his sweetness on the desert air, as Tommy Gray lamented in 1751, writing the ten-thousandth “you didn’t attach a Form 8332, so no child credit” case, such as poor Judge Kerrigan had to deal with today, in Paul Edward Vokovan, 2013 T. C. Memo. 37, filed 2/5/13.

I’ll spare you most of the details, dear reader, the story is one often told. Paul Edward claims he attached a signed original Form 8332 to a return from twelve years ago, produces an unsigned copy on the trial, but has neither return nor copy of the signed Form 8332, and IRS can’t find it either. So he’s fighting about a $1500 deficiency.

No dice, Paul Edward; you must have a signed original Form 8332, or an original signed equivalent so near to the Form 8332 in substance that you might as well just use the Form 8332, attached to each and every return for each and every year until each and every would-be qualifying child reaches adulthood, or death relieves you of this burden.

Judge Kerrigan: “Petitioner stipulated that he did not attach a signed Form 8332 to his 2008 Federal income tax return. If petitioner did not attach a signed Form 8332 or a statement conforming to the substance of Form 8332, he did not satisfy section 152(e)(2) and the prior existence of a Form 8332 is immaterial; petitioner needed to attach a copy of a signed Form 8332, or a statement conforming to the substance of Form 8332, every year to his tax return or he is not entitled to the exemption deduction. See Chamberlain v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2007-178, slip op. at 7.” 2013 T. C. Memo. 37, at pp. 7-8.

So Judge Lauber, a man of distinguished academic and professional stature, a scholar and a seasoned practitioner, must now apply his formidable intelligence and magisterial experience to such as this.

Welcome to Tax Court, Judge Lauber.