[geeks] Tax Weirdness

[Amy]

On Fri, 5 Apr 2002, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:
> I just got a letter from the IRS.  Not one of those little brown envelopes
> from the treasury, but a white letter with "official business" stamped on
> the front.  "Shit, I -don't- need to be audited right about now."

audits aren't that big of a deal. most people make them out to be far more
than they are and get pissy with the auditors to boot (which causes their
own downfall). bottom line is, if you give the auditors exactly what they
want (and they usually specify what it is) they'll be reasonable. nice
begets nice when it comes to internal revenue.

> Here's the kicker:  The IRS will be giving me a $300 -larger- refund, as a
> result.
> I honestly never thought that the IRS would admit to an error in their
> favor.  I'd probably have never caught it.

again, the irs finding its own error is not unusual nor bad. if the sytem
puts up an accounting flag, it doesnt matter whose fault or error. it's
just a numerical fuckup and person x gets a form letter.

> What bothers me more is that the tax amount they -did- come up with
> doesn't agree with their other figures, but they note something called a
> "Rate Reduction Credit".  The tax amount they come up with would be
> perfectly appropriate for someone with 90% of the taxable income that I
> had.

not uncommon. if you have any questions about it, just call the local
austin field office and make an appointment.

<small rant follows>

for years i have had to deal with people thinking they know it all about
the irs. how they're evil, out to get you, money-grubbing bastards, etc.
etc. my stock answer to any of this when i was working for revenue was to
say if you don't like the irs or the way it handles things, quit being a
complete bitching asshole or move to monaco. :)

--a