The Washington Court of Appeals in Spokane has ordered a self-styled “tax protester” to pay $1,000 to the federal government for filing a frivolous appeal. Ronald J. Davenport tried to sue an Internal Revenue Service agent in Spokane County Superior Court in a dispute over his 1995 taxes, saying the feds have no power to collect taxes from him. In an unpublished opinion, the appeals court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the action for lack of jurisdiction. Davenport had appealed the dismissal, saying he is a “sovereign” over whom the federal government has no power to collect taxes. The only sovereign in this case was the federal government, which has sovereign immunity making it immune from lawsuits unless it consents to be sued, the court said. “This action was utterly frivolous,” wrote Appeals Court Judge Kevin M. Korsmo, a former Spokane County deputy prosecutor.