Tax Excuses 301 - 400

301. I filed late tax returns for the years 1996 through 1999 because I was in the Army and stationed in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm during 1990 and 1991 [Lykes v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2004-159).].

302. The Bankruptcy Court should discharge our tax debts because our failure to file our tax returns and pay the taxes was not due to criminal willfulness, but was the result of mere procrastination [Matter of Steinkrauss, 313 B.R. 87; 2004 Bankr. LEXIS 1072 (Bankr., D. Mass. 2004).].

303. The Oregon Department of Revenue's notices of deficiency against me should be vacated because the Department of Revenue waited more than three years after they learned from the IRS that I didn't file a Federal tax return [Ward v. Dept. of Revenue, Docket No. TC-MD 030424A, 2004 Ore. Tax LEXIS 93 (Oregon Tax Ct., 16 August 2004).

304. "The plaintiff complains, according to his complaint delivered in writing, that the defendant offered resistance to the court officer in regard to the collection of the chimney tax. The defendant says that he offered resistance because he would not allow his property to be carried out of his house" [La Montagne v. van Neck, New Netherlands Inferior Court of Justice (Kleine Banck van Justitie), Fort Orange Court Minutes, p. 211 (14 September 1660) (Charles T. Gehring, transl., at p. 529, Syracuse Univ. Press, 1990).] [N.B. Money was scarce in colonial New York and other American colonies, so taxes were often levied and collected using commodities such as farm products or beaver pelts as the medium of exchange.].

305. I should be able to claim my stock market trading losses as theft loss deductions because Paine Webber stole my money by getting me drunk with alcoholic beverages and allowing me to make unwise investments [Yoakum v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2004-191.].


306. We thought that the payment of $2,500.00 towards our 2000 New York State Income Tax was received because our checking account bank statement had, next to the listing for check number 2245, the notation "NSF", which we thought stood for "New York State Finance," so we didn't know that the check had bounced because there were No Sufficient Funds in the account [Matter of Abdyl & Vivian Koprencka, New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 819407 (30 September 2004).].


307. The members of our Board of Directors are of old age and they did not notice the date specified for the furnishing of the tax return [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D94/03 (5 February 2004).].

308. I forgot that my mother had passed away, so accidentally I claimed the dependent parent allowance for her on my tax return [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D95/03 (5 February 2004).].

309. As a result of some disputes with the Teachers Retirement System that required litigation, we fell behind in the filing of some of our State and Federal income tax returns [Matter of Erskine & Elinor Agee, New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket No. DTA 819544 (7 October 2004).].

310. The sales should be exempt from taxation because the investigator from the Revenue Crimes Bureau was killed and our papers he had were destroyed when the World Trade Center was attacked on September 11, 2001 (the owner of the business had already pleaded guilty to criminal tax fraud) [Matter of A.V.S. Laminates, Inc. & Steiger Boat Sales, Inc., New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket No. DTA 819295 and DTA 819301 (4 November 2004), aff'd N.Y.S. Tax App. Tribunal (23 March 2006).].

311. "[Y]our Petitioner by Reason of Age and Sickness is uncapable of Working and make[ing] Cropps as also his wife is antient and your petitioner hath noe servant worke for [him] which Incappassitys him to pay the publick and County Leavies. Your petitioner [there]fore humbly prays that he may be by order of Court Discharged from paying his Leavyes." [Petition of Thomas Hyde, Prince Georges County Court Records 1696 - 1699, page 24 (28 August 1696) (Published in Court Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, 1696 - 1699, p. 22 (Joseph H. Smith and Philip A Crowl, eds., American Hist. Assn., 1964).).].


312. "We are a very reputable CPA firm operating in San Luis Obispo, California, where we process a number of California property tax returns. Unfortunately, with the purchase of Chemron by Lubrizol in 2002 in addition to staff changes in our office, the filing of Chemron’s Ohio property tax return was overlooked. … If we had had the foresight to file an extension, the return and payment would have been considered timely." [Chemron Corp. v. Zaino, Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, No. 2003-A-1442 (23 April 2004).].


313. We had a time extension to file our property tax return, but the extension was for Portage County and not Geauga County, and if we had filed the tax return with the Portage County Auditor's Office instead of the Geauga County Auditor's Office it would have been timely [Lee V. Silvis v. Zaino, Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, No. 2002-G-1585 (7 March 2003).].


314. "I unknowingly became the Unjustified Victim of the State of Alabama’s Department of Revenue’s Witch Hunt, Harassments, Libel, Target, etc., etc." [Edward Gibson v. State, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. INC. 03-613 (29 January 2004).].

315. We failed to make any monthly payment on our past sales tax delinquency because the monthly amount due was too high, based on our cash flow [Matter of Anonymous, Utah State Tax Commission Appeal No. 03-1253 (29 July 2004), reconsideration denied, 16 August 2004).].

316. If something happens to me my parents will make sure the IRS is paid, or I will pay it myself from my inheritance after my parents pass away (petitioner was a 54-year-old disbarred attorney who had made no payments for over 3 years on a $53,000 outstanding tax deficiency) [Matter of John J. Mogck, III, Pennsylvania Supreme Ct. Disciplinary Bd., 78 DB 1992 (28 September 2004).].


317. "I am not required to contribute to such things as funding Oregon's abortion program that kills unborn children with $ 3.7 million dollars from the general fund. Furthermore, I am not required to pay taxes when the taxes will be used to fund activities that are evil, violate my conscience, hinder my faith, or, damage my ability to worship Almighty God" [Jamie Danielle-Thayer Berkey v. Dept. of Revenue, Oregon Tax Ct., Case No. TC-MD 040081B, 2004 Ore. Tax LEXIS 106 (27 September 2004).].


318. I stopped making my delinquent tax payments because the California Franchise Tax Board didn't send me any receipts for the prior payments I made while I was overseas [Appeal of Shubert, Calif. State Bd. of Equalization, 79-SBE-161 (25 September 1979).].


319. My wife, who was the office manager of my company, suffered from depression which drove her to compulsively spend personal and corporate funds and to attempt suicide, so we were late with the payroll taxes. When the IRS informed us of the delinquency we fired the bookkeeper, but my wife still didn't pay the company taxes on time [Donald's Electric & Refrigeration Service, Inc. v. United States, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3486 (W.D. Va. 2005).].


320. I believe that the New Mexico income tax is too high and that I should not be liable for amounts in excess of the tax withheld from my paycheck by my employer [Matter of Benny Nevarez, New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Dept., Decision & Order No. 02-19 (30 September 2003).].

321. We are Texas residents who work at the White Sands Missile Range, and we shouldn't have to pay income taxes to the State of New Mexico because New Mexico has spent very little money in our behalf [Lung v. O'Chesky, 94 N.M. 802, 617 P.2d 1317 (N.Mex. 1980), app. dism'd 450 U.S. 961 (1981).].

322. Our taxes were late because our bookkeeper was on leave, but the penalty should be waived because we are a nonprofit corporation and could use the funds for a better purpose [Matter of ARCA, New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Dept., Decision & Order No. 03-06 (13 May 2003).].

323. We are an out-of-state company, and even if we were negligent in preparing our New Mexico tax returns we should be held to a lower standard than an in-state company [Matter of D & H Pump Service, Inc., New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Dept., Decision & Order No. 02-23 (2 October 2002).].

324. I shouldn't be charged a tax on all of my unreported gambling winnings because I shared half of them with my lady friend [Klingaman v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-36.].

325. We were unable to timely file our sales tax returns because our business drastically declined on account of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the SARS outbreak and the airline bankruptcies [International Restaurant Management Corp. v. State, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. S-03-472 (21 January 2004).].

326. We shouldn't have to collect the resort tax from the tourists and remit it over to the Tribal Council because we are not members of the Crow Tribe (the appellants operated tourist resorts on the Crow Indian Reservation) [Rose v. Adams, Civ. App. No. 95-27, 2000 Crow 1 (Crow Indian Reservation Court of Appeals, 11 January 2000).].


327. I'm not really a tax expert; I became a federal revenue officer only by the chance of politics (the defendant, convicted of tax evasion, had served as Brooklyn District Collector of Internal Revenue from 1941 - 1944, and as Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 1944 - 1947) [United States v. Nunan, 236 F.2d 576, 580 (2d Cir. 1956), cert. denied 353 U.S. 912 (1957).].

328. I do not deny that I owe $250.46 on my New York State Income Tax, but the courts denied me justice in my dispute with my landlord and with the New York City Housing Authority, and I won't pay the tax until I get justice from the Housing Department [Matter of Edwin L. Williams, New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 819907 (14 April 2005).].

329. I didn't pay taxes because I believed that the government used the money to violate the rule of law and the Nuremberg principles [Regina v. Ricci, [2002] O.J. No. 3727, 55 W.C.B. (2d) 406 (Ontario Ct. Justice, 2002), aff'd [2003] O.J. No. 5134 (Ontario Superior Ct Justice 2003), app. dism'd [2004] O.J. No. 4161 (Ontario Ct. App., 2004).].


330. My family was under a financial strain, and I could not control my spending and eventually filed the false tax returns because I felt an overwhelming need to care for my wife, daughters, and co-workers, and it was ego-alien for me to disappoint these people [Matter of Bruce Hlavacek, Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, Dkt. No. 54-99-0053.C (15 June 1999).].


331. I was raised in an orphanage, and I knew I should have filed my tax returns but I did not realize that failure to file the returns was a crime [Matter of Herbert C. Mueller, M.D., Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, Dkt. No. 503-99-1613 (December 1999).].

332. "The Federal Income Tax return attached hereto could not be filed within the time required by law, on account of the fact that business conditions prevented the keeping of sufficient clerical help to compile the information. And that throughout the months of February, March and April of this year it was necessary to use the regular clerical help in distributing both City and State Automobile License plates, thus making it impossible to close the books and compile the information sooner." [Pioneer Automobile Service Co. v. Commissioner, 36 B.T.A. 213 (1937).].

333. I didn't file my tax return because I had broken parole and did not want to put myself on record where I could be located [Cohen v. Commissioner, U.S. Tax Ct. , Docket No. 39927, 12 T.C.M. (CCH) 392 (1953).].

334. "I come along for the ride, only. I'm in a United States penitentiary doing 25 years. When I finish that, I go to Nevada to do a life sentence. All I wanted to do was come up here for a ride. What that man [the IRS attorney] says is exactly true. Now, it's back to you, friend." (Spoken at trial in the United States Tax Court. The IRS had assessed tax based upon income from proceeds of the two bank robberies for which he was convicted.) [Gary Frederick Ayers v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1978-341.].


335. I didn't file my tax returns because I had a depressive disorder and was not capable of dealing with the filing requirements [Dept. of Energy, Office of Hearings & Appeals, Case No. VSO-0133, 26 DOE para. 82,782 (2 July 1997).].


336. I didn't pay my taxes because I had a sleep disorder [Thompson v. Commissioner, 97-2 U.S.T.C. (CCH) para. 50,748, 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 27139 (10th Cir. 1997).].


337. I should not have to pay income tax on the $16,113 royalty income I received in the year 2000 from Warner Chappell Music until the IRS forces Warner Chappell to admit that I am owed additional royalties for that year, or at least until the IRS investigates Warner Chappell (he did not filed a 2000 tax return, and had other royalty income from other recording companies) [Robert Eugene Poindexter v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-122.].


338. "Every walk of life had been badly affected by atypical pneumonia last year. Additional time was required to pass the information and discuss with the relevant parties located both in and outside Hong Kong to finalize the accounts. Our client also had to make sure that the factory and staff, who traveling outside Hong Kong, would not be affected by atypical pneumonia. There was a delay in filing the tax return but the amount of delay is not significant" [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D63/04 (8 December 2004).].


339. I didn't report my income from fur trading because it was money I made from my hobby, not from my business [Watson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1988-29.].


340. The deficiency notice issued to me by the IRS was invalid because it was issued by the Holtsville, New York office of the IRS, and I live in Tennessee so it should have been issued by the Memphis office [Kelly v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-87.].


341. We had cash flow problems on account of the foot and mouth disease outbreak, combined with the bad weather at the beginning of the year. [Landscape Maintenance Ltd. and Commissioners of Customs & Excise, London Tribunal Centre (VAT) (Plymouth, 16 January 2003).]


342. "Several years ago I became aware of the immoral activities that our government was involved in with my tax dollars. At that time I adjusted my life style so that I would not owe and taxes and therefore not be supporting this activity. However, last year I found it necessary to take a 'normal' job and thus have had to file the enclosed return this year. I have requested on the return that all money collected through payroll deductions be returned. As long as one child is murdered in the womb with tax dollars, or one young person is being taught premarital sex of OK in school or one family is being broken up for easy welfare money or any of the other inappropriate ways the government is encouraging sin, then I'm afraid that I can not contribute." [Lane v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-182.].


343. Assessing the penalty for possessing cigarettes with counterfeit tax stamps at the maximum rate of $150.00 per carton is excessive, and it places an economic burden on my limited financial resources [Matter of Ahmned Nasser, New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 819908 (28 July 2005).].


344. "There was not a structure in place to accommodate the revenue stream." (Quote to the news media from Tim Meche, Esq., attorney for rap artist Percy "Master P" Miller, on Miller's plea bargain in the Middle District of Louisiana for failing to file a corporate income tax return for his record company, which earned over $2 million) [Penny Brown Roberts, "Master P Pleads to Tax Charge in BR Operation," The Advocate (Baton Rouge), 6 February 2004).].

345. "It was – that was the furthest thing from my mind. My bills were the furthest thing from my mind." (Defendant, who avoided jail time with a guilty plea, had been a Tax Fraud Investigative Aide for the IRS who had not filed her own tax returns for years 1997 through 1999) [United States v. Raquel Forero, No. CR 03-10380, Dist. Mass., 16 December 2003 Indictment, page 2 (reporting statement made by defendant at prior hearing).].


346. We shouldn't have to pay our taxes for the years 1994 through 1998 because the Ministry of National Revenue was late in assessing the taxes (the company did not respond to repeated requests for information from the MNR) [Maya Forestales S.A. v. Her Majesty the Queen, 2005 TCC 66 (Tax Ct. of Canada 2005).].

347. In a developing country such as ours, a sophisticated or disciplined company law inherited from another place inhibits growth rather than aids it, and has a frustrating effect on energetic people with an eye to improving themselves and others [Kaputin v The State, [1979] PNGLR 559 (Sup. Ct. of Justice, Papua New Guinea, 1979).].

348. I owe the IRS nothing because any tax assessments must be calculated with tax returns filed by the taxpayer, and I cannot be taxed because I have not filed any returns [In re Charles A. Weatherley, 169 B.R. 555, 560 (Bankr., E.D.Pa. 1994).].


349. "The tax form was filed delinquent due to a new computer software for managing due dates that our [accountant's] firm had installed." [Gaydash Industries, Inc. v. Wilkins, Ohio Bd. of Tax Appeals, No. 2005-A-297 (5 August 2005).].


350. My records were destroyed by an ex-roommate [Cantrell v. Alabama Department of Revenue, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. INC-04-234 (15 February 2005).].


351. "There are many reasons for the late payment, not the least of which is Hurricane Ivan, five burglaries, and the firing of the person in my accountant's office that handled these accounts." [Simple Investments, Inc. v. Alabama Department of Revenue, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. S-05-418 (28 June 2005).].


352. I decided in my own mind that I wasn't liable for income tax, and I stopped filing returns [Joseph John Martella v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-216.].


353. I did not have an opportunity to review the tax return because my ex-husband, at the last minute, insisted that I sign the return immediately so that he could mail the return before the deadline (she unsuccessfully tried to use the "innocent spouse" defense to avoid liability on the jointly-filed income tax return) [Simon v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-220.]

354. The Internal Revenue Manual reveals secret a default process used by the Internal Revenue Commissioner's delegates, so we exercised our right to equal treatment under the law by performing the same administrative default process upon the IRS that the IRS uses upon the people [Gallegos v. Commissioner, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 21814 (10th Cir. 2005).].


355. I contracted a cold which developed into a bronchial condition that caused my return to New York to be delayed until the end of April, 1925 [Irving Berlin v. Commissioner, 59 F.2d 996 (2d Cir. 1932), cert. denied 287 U.S. 642 (1932).].


356. I suffered from bilateral tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and periods of depression (during the tax years at issue she was constantly employed, was running her own startup network marketing business and was able to file other tax documents) [Joyce M. Thomas v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-258.].

357. "I can't afford to pay the penalties and interest, because my income is limited due to my physical disabilities and limitations (see attached). Any further collection of monies by the IRS will deprive me of obtaining medical help to cope with my physical condition and cause long-term and permanent effects. .... In March of 1976, I was in an accident, in which I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle. I suffered numerous permanent and irreversible injuries. I have been injured, handicapped and limited every [sic] since. I certainly expect relief from the insurmountable penalty & interest charges." (Petitioner was gainfully employed before and after the tax years at issue (1995 through 1998) and was self-employed during 1995 - 1998) [James Murden Wilcox v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-257.].


358. Our vacation travel plans did not leave us with enough time to appeal our tax case [Chiulli v. IRS, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22415 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).]


359. My ex-husband got angry when I asked him what was happening with the IRS with our tax problems, so I didn't know that we owed so much in back taxes until the IRS tried to collect from me when my ex didn't pay the IRS as agreed in our divorce [Negoescu v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2005-161.].


360. I shouldn't be liable for the New York City Unincorporated Business Tax or the Occupancy Tax because I am a journalist [Frye v. Commissioner of Finance, 62 N.Y.2d 841, 466 N.E.2d 151, 477 N.Y.S.2d 611 (1984).].

361. I didn't file my tax returns from 1997 to 2002 because I was chemically dependent on OxyContin [James H. Jordan v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-266].

362. I shouldn't have to pay the penalty for missing tax stamps on cigarettes because the 259 unstamped packages of cigarettes were found in the basement of my club and were not kept behind the bar [Matter of "John Doe", Illinois Dept. of Revenue Office of Admin. Hearings, Dkt. No. CT-05-1 (10 March 2005).].


363. In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 tragedy, many of the cities where we provided security, baggage check and screening services to the airlines exempted our revenue from any form of taxation at all, so we should also get a tax break on our revenue from services we provided to Delta Air Lines at JFK Airport in New York during this period [Matter of Worldwide Security Associates, Inc., New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 820233 (17 November 2005).].

364. I requested that my name be placed on the Treasury Department's "no call" list [Hennard v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2005-275.].


365. "I respectively [sic] request that all associated penalties be abated, as there was no willful neglect to collect sales tax or self assess use tax during the audit period. Additional taxes were assessed due to normal human errors that sometime [sic] occur when dealing with very high volumes of transactions, customers and invoices." … "It is due only to human error that all taxes were not collected and remitted during the audit period. At no time did [we] have material disagreements as to the taxability of product for sale nor do we dispute our responsibility to collect the tax. As we all know, humans are fallible and sometimes make errors in judgment and performance." [Indiana Dept. of State Revenue, Letter of Findings No. 04-0256P, 28 Indiana Register 1957 (1 March 2005).].


366. New York State tax law exempts income earned in foreign countries from the New York State income tax. Since New York State has a constitution and a government with a legislature empowered to make laws, New York State meets the criteria of a foreign country. Therefore, because my income was earned in New York State, it is exempt from taxation under the New York State income tax laws [Matter of Quentin Rivers, New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 820156 (22 December 2005).]


367. The audit deficiency on my mixed beverage gross receipts tax should be reduced because my husband grossly mismanaged the business and the business environment was hostile [Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Docket No. 200510368H, Hearing No. 44,842 (12 October 2005).].


368. The HK$600,000 I received from my ex-employer when my division was terminated should not be subject to the Salaries Tax because it was an Appreciation Bonus to show my ex-employer's gratitude for my work during the transitional period [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D4/05 (13 April 2005).].


369. My 1999 income tax return was filed late because I suffered serious back injuries as a result of three separate automobile accidents in 1989 and 1991, my father was killed in an automobile accident in 1997, and on the way to identifying my father's body I stepped into a hole in my mother's yard, aggravating my pre-existing back injury and becoming more permanently and seriously disabled (she successfully ran her own dog breeding business from her home) [Marta Gropper v. United States, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28141, 96 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 7133 (E.D. Pa. 2005).].

370. When I practiced dressmaking to supplement my Jamaica Constabulary Force salary, I was not permitted to have secondary employment, so I did not have a registered establishment, kept no books and made no tax returns (automotive personal injury plaintiff's claim for lost earnings in that enterprise was denied) [Walker v. Pink, Jamaica Supreme Court of Appeal, Civ. App. No. 158/01 (2003).].

371. The sales tax penalties should be abated because of my extended absence from the business to take care of my disabled children (despite the owner's extensive business experience, he failed to maintain a general ledger, a cash receipts book , cash disbursements book or cash register tapes) [Matter of RYKG, Inc., New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 819983 & 819984 (12 January 2006).].


372. My corporation had financial problems, I had no assets, and if the interest and penalty on the unpaid sales & service tax were waived then I would be able to pay off the taxes owed [West Virginia Office of Tax Appeals, Docket No. 05-586 C (29 December 2005).].


373. The IRS's assessment of additional income taxes was invalid because it was based on information the IRS obtained from my employer about my tips, which are private transactions between me and my employer [Branka Petrie v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1990-168.].

374. The jury was prejudiced because a large number of IRS and government agents sat directly behind the prosecution table throughout the trial and glared at us, intimidated us, and caused some of the jurors to fear that if they acquitted us the IRS might retaliate against them (their tax fraud convictions were upheld on appeal) [United States v. Rutherford, 164 Fed. Appx. 589, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 1702 (9th Cir. 2006), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 127 S. Ct. 525 (2006).].


375. I didn't report my taxable disability pension income on prior tax returns, so I shouldn't be taxed on it for this year [Burnham v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2006-8.].

376. Paying my tax obligations was not a priority to me (he purchased a new home and a Cadillac, sent his children to private school and went on a cruise with his wife) [In re Claxton, 335 B.R. 680 (Bankr., N.Dist. Ill. 2006).].


377. I am a minister of the gospel, and the $80,000 kickbacks I received from the company that was constructing my church should be excluded from my income as a love offering and shouldn't be taxed [United States v. Snowden. 770 F.2d 393 (4th Cir. 1985).].


378. I weighed over 360 pounds; suffered from abnormally high blood pressure, diabetes, and sleep deprivation; and was overwhelmed by my infirmities [he was the CEO of a 500+ employee corporation that defaulted on its withholding tax payments to the IRS) Cappetta v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1609 (N.D. Ill. 2006).].


379. I believed that limiting my clients' false charitable contribution deductions to 10 percent of their income would avoid IRS audits of their tax returns which my office prepared [United States v. Samuel Joseph DeAngelo, U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Press Release No. 06-016 (7 February 2006).].


380. It was my first year in business, I was very busy with suppliers and customers and had a staggering workload [Scott Parsons Century Moulding Co. v. Hood River County Assessor, 2005 Ore. Tax LEXIS 215, Oregon Tax Ct., Docket No. TC-MD 050136A (26 October 2005).].



381. All my substantiating documents were either destroyed in hard disk crashes or lost while moving (he didn't file his 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001 tax returns until 28 October 2002, and did not file his 1997 tax return at all) [Christensen v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2006-62.].


382. As the pastor of the church, I grew the congregation from 500 to 2,000 members, and increased the weekly collections from $7,000 to $41,000, so I was entitled to skim $1,000 a week as tax-free income from the collection plate. I wasn't really stealing from the church because the board had offered me a raise anyway, but if I had accepted the raise then that income would have been reported to the IRS and would have been taxable (the Bishop, whose annual salary before skimming was $109,000, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for tax evasion) [United States v. William A. Ellis, 440 F.3d 434 (7th Cir. 2006).].


383. We couldn't timely file and pay our sales tax returns for September 2003 through February 2004 because the New York State Division of Taxation's actions to collect our past tax delinquencies from 1998 through 2001 hurt our business [Matter of Rockwell's Restaurant Corp., New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 820114 & 820314 (13 April 2006).].

384. The $25,000 I received from my wife's doctor should not be taxable income because it was a gift given by the doctor to ease his conscience after he had an affair with my wife when she was his patient [Peebles v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2006-61.].


385. The failure to file and failure to pay penalties should not apply to me because my parents raised me to believe that the Internal Revenue Service was an illegal organization and taught me not to file tax returns or pay taxes, and I believed that my parents would disown me if I ever filed a return or paid taxes [Ruth Ann Gillings v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2006-65.].


386. The IRS's audit adjustments to our year 2000 corporate income tax return necessitated the filing of more than 400 state and local amended tax returns, and we were too busy working on the other tax returns to timely file the Virginia state corporate amended income tax return [Virginia Tax Commissioner, Ruling No. 06-37 (5 April 2006).].


387. We didn't remit our employees' withholding taxes because after the September 11th terrorist attack the economy weakened and we lost receivables when clients such as Enron and Global Crossing went bankrupt, so instead of paying over the withholding taxes we sunk the money into trying to grow company so we could sell it [Staff It, Inc. v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8793 (S.D. Tex., 2006), aff'd 482 F.3d 792 (5th Cir. 2007), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 128 S. Ct. 333 (2007).].

388. I should be allowed the dependency exemption for my half-brother's half-brother's two children who didn't live with me because I paid their father money to support them. I don't have many receipts for the money I gave to support the children because where we come from, we don't use money. It is very hard for us to know how to use money. We don't keep receipts of every little things we buy, for buying food or buying clothes, or anything, or even, you know, we just give money, we forget about it. The children's father is a member of my tribe and where I come from in Africa all our tribe members are considered the same family [Daniel D. McBol Aruai v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2006-98.].


389. I shouldn't be taxed on my sponsorship income from playing at Wimbledon because I am not a United Kingdom resident and the sponsorship fees were paid to me by non-UK entities [Andre Agassi v. Robinson, [2006] UKHL 23.].


390. I was too busy losing weight after my heart attack and angina episode to oversee the payroll tax payments of my corporation (he was able to repay himself the money he had loaned to the corporation during that time) [Savage v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9014 (E.D.Calif., 2006).].


391. I am being punished unfairly in being assessed the penalties for evading the sales tax on the paintings I purchased. I did what many, many people did in avoiding the payment of sales tax, and I am being treated differently from others who have voluntarily filed and alerted the Department to the issue (he pleaded guilty to Federal criminal fraud charges and filed the tax returns only after the criminal indictment was secured against him) [Matter of Samuel D. Waksal, New York State Division of Tax Appeals No. DTA 820118 (25 May 2006).].


392. I mistook my mother’s date of death and there was a gap of three months between the real date of death and the mistaken date of death; I did not realise that I had made a mistake until I was invited by the Deputy Commissioner to make representations; I did not collect the employer’s return which had been sent to one of the three business addresses of my employer; I was busy and it was my husband who filled in the return for me; I had no clue about money and figures and was careless, but the errors were unintentional; and I had financial difficulty because I had to pay for my mother-in-law’s medical treatment and for my 3-year old daughter’s speech therapy training at $600 per session [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review, Case No. D47/05 (16 September 2005).].


393. I thought that since I had paid the tax, there was no need for me to respond to the notice from the Commissioner of the intent to assess additional tax for making an incorrect tax return [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review, Case No. D50/05 (7 October 2005).].


394. The lateness penalties assessed by the IRS should be waived because the IRS's Estate Tax Attorney wrongly advised us that the filing date was given an additional extension from 11 February 2002 until 11 June 2002 (the Estate Tax Return was not filed until 4 December 2002 [David T. Welch v. United States, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27671 (No. 03-5044, Dist. N.J., 3 May 2006).].

395. When I prepared my income tax return I realized that I had mistakenly treated one of my stocks for a long term capital gain, but when I went to correct it I realized it would cost me more in taxes than I wished to spend, so I intentionally overvalued the basis of the stock to lower my tax obligation. I regarded the IRS as an adversary and disliked them because of their invasive and arbitrary methods when they audited me, and I was willing to overcome my adversaries by any means possible, including cheating [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 02-31428 (29 March 2005), aff'd, Appeal Bd. (20 January 2006).].


396. The New York Tax Appeals Tribunal wrongly disregarded my husband's testimony because suffers from Alzheimer's disease and he had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud; they should have credited his testimony and granted me innocent spouse relief from the tax penalties imposed on our joint return [Rubin v. Tax Appeals Tribunal, 814 N.Y.S.2d 804 (3d Dept. 2006).].


397. "My husband was a partner in one of the largest accounting firms in the world. His attitude was, if he couldn't prepare a proper return, no one else could. He said, don't bother me asking me, asking me questions, just sign it." (she was a school teacher with a college degree) [Cohen v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1987-537.].


398. The company's operations would have ceased sooner and the employees would have lost their jobs earlier if the employee's payroll withholdings had been timely paid to the IRS [In re Branagan, 2006 Bankr. LEXIS 1286 (Bankr., E.D. Pa., No. 02-19355, 12 May 2006).].


399. I didn't file my 2000 income tax return until 2004 because of my medical afflictions and my belief that I was being erroneously targeted by the IRS as a tax shelter marketer [Peter K. Chow v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Opinion 2006-116.].


400. We imported sunglasses that were manufactured in China and then sent to Holland and then here to the United Kingdom, but the purchase invoice paperwork went from China to the USA to Holland to the UK, so we were reluctant to lodge our quarterly VAT return until the purchase invoices arrived [Iconeyewear Distributions Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. 19566, Manchester Tribunal Centre, 27 April 2006).].