The Tax Man
It's been nearly a year since the CFO and I received a package from the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America. The two sentences that got my attention said, and I quote, "The income and payment information that we have on file does not match entries on your 2005 Form 1040. If this is correct, you will owe $26,036." It went on to explain we owed the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America a total of $26,036 in back taxes, penalties and interest on account of the sale of some securities that we had not reported in our 2005 tax returns.
Now, let me tell you, folks, that'll get your attention. And, the bad part of the thing was it turned out that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was right that of the sale of some securities that we had not reported in our 2005 tax returns.
I say it was bad because we had paid more for the securities when they were bought than we got for them when they were sold. But, wait. That's good news because a loss on the sale of securities should reduce your taxable income and reduce your taxes. Yes, the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America owed us money because we had overpaid our 2005 taxes!
The battle was drawn.
I called the folks at the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America in Philadelphia, PA and spoke to a very nice lady who works for the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America. Seems, of course, that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was of the opinion that we had somehow acquired the said sold securities at no cost to us. She explained that I should do this and that and this and that and this and that ... and this and that. Which I did.
Now comes a bundle from the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America. "The income and payment information that we have on file does not match entries on your 2005 Form 1040. If this is correct, you will owe $7,268.51."
Once again, it turned out that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was right that of the sale of even more securities that we had not reported in our 2005 tax returns.
Once again, I spoke to a nice lady in Philadelphia who said do even more this and that.
And I did, sending a grand total of 18 pages of this and that by facsimile, all of which apparently got lost somewhere in the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America.
Then we received another packet saying that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America had charge our account $7,268.51. And, I didn't even know I had an account with the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America.
So, I called the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America in Philadelphia, PA and spoke to a very nice gentleman, explaining everything that had transpired. And, what does he say? "Don't worry. If you have a confirmation of the facsimile being received then it's here somewhere and will show up. I'll hold off collections for 6 weeks."
The CFO called today to say today, nearly a year later, we had received yet package from the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America, this time containing a tax refund check.
Tax Man had taken on the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America and persevered. Now, that, folks, is news!
I fairness I must say that the CFO and I were responsible for creating the problem we encounterd and that all three of the IRS employees I spoke with were friendly, competent and very helpful in handling the resolution. The bureaucracy in the IRS is, indeed, staggering and slow to respond. All three advised patience and predicted a favorable outcome if I would only do what they said to do, literally to the letter and punctuation mark.
Now, let me tell you, folks, that'll get your attention. And, the bad part of the thing was it turned out that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was right that of the sale of some securities that we had not reported in our 2005 tax returns.
I say it was bad because we had paid more for the securities when they were bought than we got for them when they were sold. But, wait. That's good news because a loss on the sale of securities should reduce your taxable income and reduce your taxes. Yes, the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America owed us money because we had overpaid our 2005 taxes!
The battle was drawn.
I called the folks at the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America in Philadelphia, PA and spoke to a very nice lady who works for the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America. Seems, of course, that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was of the opinion that we had somehow acquired the said sold securities at no cost to us. She explained that I should do this and that and this and that and this and that ... and this and that. Which I did.
Now comes a bundle from the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America. "The income and payment information that we have on file does not match entries on your 2005 Form 1040. If this is correct, you will owe $7,268.51."
Once again, it turned out that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America was right that of the sale of even more securities that we had not reported in our 2005 tax returns.
Once again, I spoke to a nice lady in Philadelphia who said do even more this and that.
And I did, sending a grand total of 18 pages of this and that by facsimile, all of which apparently got lost somewhere in the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America.
Then we received another packet saying that the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America had charge our account $7,268.51. And, I didn't even know I had an account with the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America.
So, I called the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America in Philadelphia, PA and spoke to a very nice gentleman, explaining everything that had transpired. And, what does he say? "Don't worry. If you have a confirmation of the facsimile being received then it's here somewhere and will show up. I'll hold off collections for 6 weeks."
The CFO called today to say today, nearly a year later, we had received yet package from the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America, this time containing a tax refund check.
Tax Man had taken on the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of Treasury of the United States of America and persevered. Now, that, folks, is news!
I fairness I must say that the CFO and I were responsible for creating the problem we encounterd and that all three of the IRS employees I spoke with were friendly, competent and very helpful in handling the resolution. The bureaucracy in the IRS is, indeed, staggering and slow to respond. All three advised patience and predicted a favorable outcome if I would only do what they said to do, literally to the letter and punctuation mark.
Comments
Post a Comment