esrosedotblog

TAXING TIMES

You may remember that I got a bill from the IRS in December. Said that my money manager had a different number than I reported for income.

They thought I owed them over 15,000.

Yikes!

We went through the paper and found that either the IRS misinterpreted my manager's report or the report was misleading. Whatever.

We filed a revised tax return that explicitly showed no gain on the big dollars. So, 6 weeks later I have a letter that closes the case. They think I may still owe some money. Five dollars. But I must wait for a bill.

Sooner or later they will figure out that it is costing them more than it is worth.

Anyway, it is nice to have this off my mind. I never thought I would endup having to pay the dough but I didn't like the feelings I had during the process.

I was audited once.

Years ago, an auditor showed up unannounced at our company. He went over the corporate books and, because we were closely held, he had to do one of the partners. I stood up for it.

Both the company and I got a "no change audit" meaning that we were exactly in compliance. Not over or under the amount owed.

Such outcomes are rare. We were the first for this auditor.

As a result, I think, I was not audited ever again even though, at times, I have had a quirky return.

I have always done my taxes on the basis of doing it right. Pay no more nor less than I owed.

We never managed our company to the tax code either. Many have but it is a fool's errand. The wrong end of the bat.

We surely did manage our compensation so that it was to the maximum advantage but never took a step beyond that.

Same now.

I hope this glitch doesn't mean I am going to be looked at routinely. It is OK if they do. I am really very simple now. Easy to see. No place to hide. And I don't think that I am worth it.

But if they have me down to 5 dollars, I guess there is no amount too small.

Labels: finance