Frivolous Arguments - The SSA-Trust

Mr. Lizalek was a regular wage earner like the rest of us. He received W-2's for wages earned, and 1099's for retirement distributions, etc. But instead of filing a Form 1040 he filed a Form 1041 - tax return for estates and trusts.

Mr. Lizalek made the argument that when he received his social security card from the Social Security Administration a property transfer occurred and a trust was created. A trust must have three things; a trustee, a beneficiary, and property. Mr. Lizalek said he was the trustee and the US Government was the beneficiary. He finally asserts that his wages are earnings of the trust and should be reported on the trust's tax return.

The Tax Court rejects Mr. Lizalek's "trust theory" outright as frivolous. The Court states that issuance of a social security card is not a transfer of property, thus no trust was created. As a result, all of Mr. Lizalek's wages are includable in his gross income.

Even if Mr. Lizalek had created a valid trust, he cannot assign his wages to a trust, or anyone else for that matter. Since 1930, this point is well established. Lucas v. Earl, 281 U.S. 111, 114-115 (1930).

As for each person's social security number, a trust fund does exist. After all, it is called the Social Security Trust Fund. The Social Security Trust Fund has a trustee (more than one in fact), and I assure you it is not Mr. Lizalek. There are also beneficiaries, and the U.S. Government is not one of them. The beneficiaries of the Social Security Trust Fund are those Americans currently receiving social security benefits.


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