616. I had a problem with my Internet Explorer [Simon Levin v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00518, [2010] UKFTT 217 (TC), Appeal number Appeal number TC/2009/14793, 1st Tier Tribunal, Northampton, 13 May 2010).].
617. We didn't pay our taxes because of the financial and mental strain caused by our son's manic depressive schizophrenic condition. He was treated by more than five psychiatrists; lived with us in our Lake Shore Drive condominium; is extremely annoying, irritating, and dangerous; physically attacked his mother and grandmother; was hospitalized twice; cannot be left alone; stole and pawned jewelry from family members; and generally made our lives a living nightmare. [In re Carlson, 126 F.3d 915 (7th Cir. 1997), cert. denied 523 U.S. 1060 (1998).].
618. My income understatement penalty should be mitigated because I came to this country as an immigrant (he had been there nearly 30 years and had several successful businesses) [Income Tax Case No. 1540, 54 SATC 400 (T) (Transvaal Special Court) (Case No 9158, Transvaal Special Court, South Africa, 1991).].
619. "The first three grounds of appeal were to the effect that during the liberation struggle 1975 to 1980 appellants were ordered by the Zanla forces not to pay taxes because tax revenue was utilised by the government of the day to prosecute the war against the liberation forces. That, being sympathetic towards the liberation forces, appellants had during the aforesaid period not only made substantial donations to them but had also deliberately under-declared their respective taxable incomes." [Income Tax Case No. 1423, 49 SATC 85 (Z) (Zimbabwe Special Court, 1986).].
620. "Petitioner wrote a letter to Respondent asking that all penalties and interest on the outstanding balance be waived. The basis of the request was that only one officer of the corporation had actual knowledge of the unpaid fuel taxes." [Fuel Mart, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, DOR Case No. 10-05 FOF, DOAH Case No. 10-0425 (Florida Div. Admin. Hearings, 28 May 2010).
621. " The petition in this case had attached a form containing a hodgepodge of frivolous, irrelevant, and spurious arguments common to petitions following a program of tax defiance. … The form sets out a general denial of tax liability; a claim of various deductions and exemptions and filing status other than allowed in the statutory notice; an assertion that the figures used 'stem from illegal immigrants' using the taxpayer's Social Security number; an allegation that penalties should be waived because 'the Internal Revenue Code is so complex and confusing'; a claim for credit 'for the illegal telephone excise tax for each year'; a claim of deductible expenses of tax preparation and advice on filing (even though no return was filed); and a claimed lack of records justifying reconstruction and estimates." [Jensen v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-143.].
622. I stopped all withholding for my income taxes because I believed that it was a way to increase my income so that I could pay my personal obligations [Department of Health v. Silva, New York City Office of Admin. Trials & Hrgs., Index No. OATH 250/98 (23 September 1997), aff'd NYC Civ. Serv. Comm’n Item No. CD 99-43-SA (May 4, 1999).].
623. The IRS's wrongful assessment of taxes on me for the year 2000 forced me to withdraw from my IRA in 2004 to get the IRS off my back, so I shouldn't be liable for the IRA early withdrawal penalty tax (he didn't file a tax return for the year 2000) [Amesbury v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-148.].
624. I should be taxed as a nonresident salaried employee and not as a partner. I wasn't really a partner of the firm; they just listed me as a partner so that I would attract more clients to the firm [Heller v. State Tax Commission, 116 A.D.2d 901, 498 N.Y.S.2d 211 (3rd Dept. 1986).].
625. "I commuted to [state B] for the last six months of 1992 to secure employment. Between job hunting prior to that, long distance commuting and out of state employment, I had little, if any, time to finalize a 1991return." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-04658 (29 April 2010).].
626. My attorney advised me to not file my tax returns until my ex-wife's child's paternity issues were resolved, so that she couldn't have the refund confiscated to cover unpaid child support for a child who wasn't mine [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-07091 (17 May 2010).].
627. I have a mental block with regard to filing taxes, which has caused me to procrastinate when it comes to filing my tax returns. [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-05056 (7 July 2010).].
628. I shouldn't have to pay income tax on the amounts that were withheld from my unemployment compensation to offset what I owed to the Connecticut Department of Labor [Francis v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-161.].
629. I couldn't file my tax returns because of my mother's death in September 2004 and a major financial setback in connection with my company during 2005 (he failed to file his tax returns for 2003, 2004 and 2005) [Bream v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010-110.].
630. Maine shouldn't be able to collect its judgment against me for my state income taxes from when I lived in Maine because I now live in Florida, and Florida doesn't have an income tax [State of Maine v. Steven M. Hanson, 36 So. 3d 879 (Fla.App, 5th Dist., 2010).].
631. The Business Privilege Tax return may have been filed late, but it was filed within 15 days of the due date so there should be no lateness penalty (it was filed 16 days late, and returns for three previous years were delinquent) [Ken McNeill's Auto Repair, Inc. v. State, Alabama Dept. of Revenue, Admin. Law Div., Dkt. No. BIT. 10-341 (28 July 2010).].
632. I didn't file my tax returns because of the legal, emotional and physical trouble I experienced from husband's prosecution and incarceration, and from our divorce [Jones v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010-139.].
633. "Plaintiff testified that, even though he acknowledges that he had the authority and responsibility to pay the amount of state income tax withheld on behalf of each of Michael's Holding Company employees, he was not in a "position to pay" the monies to the Oregon Department of Revenue because the company was repeatedly sabotaged by current and ex-employees who incurred substantial cost overruns and led the company and employees into protracted litigation." [Uri v. Department of Revenue, 2010 Ore. Tax LEXIS 234 (Oregon Tax Ct., 2010).
03 October, 2010
28 May, 2010
Tax Excuses 591 - 615
591. "As mentioned in our letter dated 14 January 2009 (enclosed for your easy reference), the accounting team of our [a named country] office just started to handle the set of account of [a named] business in mid-2007. As the new team is new to our [named] business, it took us extra time to co-ordinate and obtain all necessary information for issuance of audited financial statements for 2007. Please be advised that we did the return filing immediately after the issuance of audited financial statements for 2007 and we have no intention to delay the return filing or tax payment. Given our clean past record and we settled the tax payment on-time, we sincerely hope that the penalty of HK$20,000 for late submission of the [appellant’s] return for the year of assessment 2007/08 could be waived." (The company had been let off without a penalty on a prior late filing.) [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D15/09 (25 May 2009).].
592. I didn't authorize the IRS to disclose any of my Federal income tax information to the Illinois Department of Revenue (he failed to file his Illinois State Income Tax return). [Depatment of Revenue v. John Doe, Illinois Dept. of Revenue Office of Admin. Hearings, Dkt. No. IT 09-7 (15 July 2009).].
593. "Respondent also argues that OPR’s complaint should be dismissed because of actions taken by a Revenue Officer for the IRS. Respondent alleges that the Revenue Officer referred his failure to timely file his tax returns to OPR because the Revenue Officer was unhappy with Respondent’s zealous representation of a client." (The Respondent was a partner in a large Boston law firm who had formerly been an attorney for the IRS and who had late filed or nonfiled all of his personal income tax returns for tax years 2000 through 2005. He was suspended from practice before the IRS.) [Director, Office of Professional Responsibility v. Kevin Kilduff, IRS OPR Complaint No. 2008-12, Office of Chief Counsel Appellate Authority (20 January 2010).]
594. The Department of Taxation & Finance's audit methodology was not reasonably calculated to reflect the proper tax due, but rather to achieve the highest possible tax due (the restaurant didn't produce sales records, and the manager refused to allow an observation) [Matter of Huaquechula Restaurant Corporation, New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket Nos. DTA 822285 & 822298, 25 March 2010.].
595. I didn't file my tax returns on time because my husband threatened to leave me if I did, and this would have caused me financial injury. My husband promised to file the returns but then told me that we didn't need to because there was no tax due [Wolfgram v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-69.].
596. The IRS shouldn't levy on my delinquent taxes because the IRS Hearing Officer at the Collection Due Process hearing was not properly appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate [Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Michael Cornwell & Hilary Iker v. Commissioner, Docket No. 09-704, U.S. Supreme Court (9 December 2009), cert denied ___ U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 1301, 175 L. Ed. 2d 1076 (2010).].
597. "Citing a Wikipedia article, Ms. Lam essentially argues that, like Secretary Geithner, she used TurboTax, resulting in mistakes on her taxes." [Lam v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-82.].
598. I did not consider myself to be in "business" and therefore did not think I was required to maintain records to account for the gross receipts from my E-bay sales (she was an IRS Revenue Officer whose unreported Ebay income exceeded $9,000 in 2004 and $18,000 in 2005) [Andrea Fabiana Orellana v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010-51.].
599. Tax returns have never been important to me, so I never filed them [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-05883 (23 March 2010).].
600. "Applicant has not made any payments to the IRS since 2000 and attributes any potential tax liability to the IRS’ failure to properly calculate the differences in the cost of certain public stock he sold and what he sold the stock for following the collapse of the company in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 2001." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-00918 (29 March 2010).].
601. I broke my ankle and had surgery in March 2001, and then got sidetracked from filing. "I will say that it was like an ostrich with the head in the sand. I felt overwhelmed." … "I was so overwhelmed with my illness and the real estate market wasn’t doing well." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-11885 (30 March 2010).].
602. My accountant filed my return late, and I also was severely disabled following back surgeries in 2005 and 2006 (the tax return was due on 1 May 2004 and the taxpayer did not provide the accountant with any tax information until 2006) [Virginia Tax Commissioner, Ruling No. 10-38 (8 April 2010).].
603. My parents' experience in fleeing Nazi Germany drove me to hide more than $10 million in secret Swiss bank accounts and evade the taxes on them [Curt Anderson, "Tax Evader who Blamed Holocaust gets 10 Months," AP, 23 April 2010, 07:50 PM GMT [United States vs. Jack Barouh, Case No. 10-CR-20034-AJ (SD FL)].].
604. My restaurant was a very rough neighborhood and if I had tried to collect the sales tax then people would have assaulted me [Matter of Royal Fried Chicken of New York, Inc. and Mohammed S. Uddin, New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket Nos. 822557 & 822601 (29 April 2010).].
605. My wife, my daughter and I all had mental health problems, and I had trouble controlling my anger [McKenna v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Op. 2010-58.].
606. I didn't withhold any employee payroll taxes because the people working at my cafe are relatives, not employees [Livingston v. Department of Consumer Protection, 120 Conn. App. 92 (Conn.App. 2010).].
607: "I regret to tell you that I forget to state my whole income. To be honest, I have no intention to hide by understating my income. The reason is that I didn’t get familiar with this application. In the application, I had ticked the 'Yes' box of part 4.1(5) of 'My employer(s) paid Salaries Tax for me' but didn’t know to fill in the amount of 'Salaries tax paid by the employer' of part 4.1(1) and thus leads to misunderstanding." (He had proffered similar excuses in 4 prior years for similar omissions, and had been assessed the Penalty Tax each time) [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D42/09 (18 December 2009).].
608. After completing my federal tax return form, I determined that I owed taxes and did not have the money to pay them, so I decided not to file my income tax returns. ." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-05242 (16 April 2010).].
609. My continuing tax delinquencies were due to a memory failure from my brain aneurysm [Matter of Ronald A. Goldman, 71 A.D.3d 9, 892 N.Y.S.2d 324 (1st Dept. 2009).].
610. I did pro bono legal work for death row inmates, spent lots of time and money as a trustee of Skidmore College, and suffered from an Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder that caused me to attend to my work compulsively, but caused me to be careless about various personal matters, including those relating to health and finances [Matter of John J. P. Howley, 70 A.D.3d 218, 893 N.Y.S.2d 1 (1st Dept. 2009).].
611. The Notice of Deficiency issued by the Oregon Department of Revenue was invalid because it did not have a hand signature on it [Department of Revenue v. Faris, 345 Ore. 97, 190 P.3d 364 (2008).].
612. When my father passed away in 2004, I traveled to Philadelphia on several occasions to assist my mother, who had difficulty dealing with the tragedy (The tax return was due until April 15, 2005, and he could have gotten an extension. The tax return was not filed until October 2006). [Harris v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Op. 2010-63.].
613. The solicitor who had been retained by the company to administer its operations and complete the VAT returns failed to do so and was an alcoholic, and the portacabins from which the company operated were burglarized and the computers containing the VAT information details were stolen [Pic Build Construction, Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00460, [2010] UKFTT 154 (TC), Appeal number TC/2009/13770, 1st Tier Tribunal, Liverpool, 9 April 2010).].
614. "Cash flow is critical to small business and when customers and contractors discover you are away and unable to chase them, more often than not promised payments fail to arrive or are delayed. We simply could not release funds until we had confirmed we had been paid." [Shaun Batchelor Electrical Contractors, Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00500, [2010] UKFTT 198 (TC), Appeal number TC/2009/15500, 1st Tier Tribunal, Leeds, 5 May 2010).].
615. I filed my 2003, 2004 and 2005 tax returns late because I was in several accidents that caused injuries and a prolonged rehabilitation and recovery (on each return she claimed car and travel expenses for her business, thus implicitly stating that she was able to work) [Heller v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-116.].
592. I didn't authorize the IRS to disclose any of my Federal income tax information to the Illinois Department of Revenue (he failed to file his Illinois State Income Tax return). [Depatment of Revenue v. John Doe, Illinois Dept. of Revenue Office of Admin. Hearings, Dkt. No. IT 09-7 (15 July 2009).].
593. "Respondent also argues that OPR’s complaint should be dismissed because of actions taken by a Revenue Officer for the IRS. Respondent alleges that the Revenue Officer referred his failure to timely file his tax returns to OPR because the Revenue Officer was unhappy with Respondent’s zealous representation of a client." (The Respondent was a partner in a large Boston law firm who had formerly been an attorney for the IRS and who had late filed or nonfiled all of his personal income tax returns for tax years 2000 through 2005. He was suspended from practice before the IRS.) [Director, Office of Professional Responsibility v. Kevin Kilduff, IRS OPR Complaint No. 2008-12, Office of Chief Counsel Appellate Authority (20 January 2010).]
594. The Department of Taxation & Finance's audit methodology was not reasonably calculated to reflect the proper tax due, but rather to achieve the highest possible tax due (the restaurant didn't produce sales records, and the manager refused to allow an observation) [Matter of Huaquechula Restaurant Corporation, New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket Nos. DTA 822285 & 822298, 25 March 2010.].
595. I didn't file my tax returns on time because my husband threatened to leave me if I did, and this would have caused me financial injury. My husband promised to file the returns but then told me that we didn't need to because there was no tax due [Wolfgram v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-69.].
596. The IRS shouldn't levy on my delinquent taxes because the IRS Hearing Officer at the Collection Due Process hearing was not properly appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate [Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Michael Cornwell & Hilary Iker v. Commissioner, Docket No. 09-704, U.S. Supreme Court (9 December 2009), cert denied ___ U.S. ___, 130 S. Ct. 1301, 175 L. Ed. 2d 1076 (2010).].
597. "Citing a Wikipedia article, Ms. Lam essentially argues that, like Secretary Geithner, she used TurboTax, resulting in mistakes on her taxes." [Lam v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-82.].
598. I did not consider myself to be in "business" and therefore did not think I was required to maintain records to account for the gross receipts from my E-bay sales (she was an IRS Revenue Officer whose unreported Ebay income exceeded $9,000 in 2004 and $18,000 in 2005) [Andrea Fabiana Orellana v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010-51.].
599. Tax returns have never been important to me, so I never filed them [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-05883 (23 March 2010).].
600. "Applicant has not made any payments to the IRS since 2000 and attributes any potential tax liability to the IRS’ failure to properly calculate the differences in the cost of certain public stock he sold and what he sold the stock for following the collapse of the company in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 2001." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-00918 (29 March 2010).].
601. I broke my ankle and had surgery in March 2001, and then got sidetracked from filing. "I will say that it was like an ostrich with the head in the sand. I felt overwhelmed." … "I was so overwhelmed with my illness and the real estate market wasn’t doing well." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-11885 (30 March 2010).].
602. My accountant filed my return late, and I also was severely disabled following back surgeries in 2005 and 2006 (the tax return was due on 1 May 2004 and the taxpayer did not provide the accountant with any tax information until 2006) [Virginia Tax Commissioner, Ruling No. 10-38 (8 April 2010).].
603. My parents' experience in fleeing Nazi Germany drove me to hide more than $10 million in secret Swiss bank accounts and evade the taxes on them [Curt Anderson, "Tax Evader who Blamed Holocaust gets 10 Months," AP, 23 April 2010, 07:50 PM GMT [United States vs. Jack Barouh, Case No. 10-CR-20034-AJ (SD FL)].].
604. My restaurant was a very rough neighborhood and if I had tried to collect the sales tax then people would have assaulted me [Matter of Royal Fried Chicken of New York, Inc. and Mohammed S. Uddin, New York State Div. of Tax Appeals, Docket Nos. 822557 & 822601 (29 April 2010).].
605. My wife, my daughter and I all had mental health problems, and I had trouble controlling my anger [McKenna v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Op. 2010-58.].
606. I didn't withhold any employee payroll taxes because the people working at my cafe are relatives, not employees [Livingston v. Department of Consumer Protection, 120 Conn. App. 92 (Conn.App. 2010).].
607: "I regret to tell you that I forget to state my whole income. To be honest, I have no intention to hide by understating my income. The reason is that I didn’t get familiar with this application. In the application, I had ticked the 'Yes' box of part 4.1(5) of 'My employer(s) paid Salaries Tax for me' but didn’t know to fill in the amount of 'Salaries tax paid by the employer' of part 4.1(1) and thus leads to misunderstanding." (He had proffered similar excuses in 4 prior years for similar omissions, and had been assessed the Penalty Tax each time) [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D42/09 (18 December 2009).].
608. After completing my federal tax return form, I determined that I owed taxes and did not have the money to pay them, so I decided not to file my income tax returns. ." [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-05242 (16 April 2010).].
609. My continuing tax delinquencies were due to a memory failure from my brain aneurysm [Matter of Ronald A. Goldman, 71 A.D.3d 9, 892 N.Y.S.2d 324 (1st Dept. 2009).].
610. I did pro bono legal work for death row inmates, spent lots of time and money as a trustee of Skidmore College, and suffered from an Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder that caused me to attend to my work compulsively, but caused me to be careless about various personal matters, including those relating to health and finances [Matter of John J. P. Howley, 70 A.D.3d 218, 893 N.Y.S.2d 1 (1st Dept. 2009).].
611. The Notice of Deficiency issued by the Oregon Department of Revenue was invalid because it did not have a hand signature on it [Department of Revenue v. Faris, 345 Ore. 97, 190 P.3d 364 (2008).].
612. When my father passed away in 2004, I traveled to Philadelphia on several occasions to assist my mother, who had difficulty dealing with the tragedy (The tax return was due until April 15, 2005, and he could have gotten an extension. The tax return was not filed until October 2006). [Harris v. Commissioner, T.C. Summary Op. 2010-63.].
613. The solicitor who had been retained by the company to administer its operations and complete the VAT returns failed to do so and was an alcoholic, and the portacabins from which the company operated were burglarized and the computers containing the VAT information details were stolen [Pic Build Construction, Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00460, [2010] UKFTT 154 (TC), Appeal number TC/2009/13770, 1st Tier Tribunal, Liverpool, 9 April 2010).].
614. "Cash flow is critical to small business and when customers and contractors discover you are away and unable to chase them, more often than not promised payments fail to arrive or are delayed. We simply could not release funds until we had confirmed we had been paid." [Shaun Batchelor Electrical Contractors, Ltd. v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00500, [2010] UKFTT 198 (TC), Appeal number TC/2009/15500, 1st Tier Tribunal, Leeds, 5 May 2010).].
615. I filed my 2003, 2004 and 2005 tax returns late because I was in several accidents that caused injuries and a prolonged rehabilitation and recovery (on each return she claimed car and travel expenses for her business, thus implicitly stating that she was able to work) [Heller v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2010-116.].
27 January, 2010
Tax Excuses 571 - 590
571. "We don’t have an in-house bookkeeper who will be working in our office the whole day so they come and do the books, and now we are planning to change our
bookkeeper for another auditor, a bookkeeper who can do it on a more regular basis starting this year ... So, taking that into consideration and I love to pay tax but I hate to pay penalty. If possible, I would like to avoid it. [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D49/08 (12 November 2009).].
572. "Petitioner asserts in a posttrial memorandum that he was 'duped by a charlatan and in essence Robert Gruntz tacitly implied that I should fabricate a log that would show material participation'. Petitioners assert that the liability would be a financial burden for their family and "petition the Court to consider reducing the liability, throwing [themselves] at the mercy of the court." They conclude with: "Just Google Robert Gruntz to see more." [Cunningham v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-194.].
573. The president of our company fell and hit her head, which caused complications with her neck and back, and the pain and pain medications impaired her both physically and mentally, so she couldn't file the payroll taxes on time. [Benton Workshop Inc. v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74521 (E.D. Ark., 2009).].
574. I was overwhelmed with the impending eviction of my manufacturing business and with finding a new place to locate the company (The taxpayer, who gained $40,000 from trading the securities markets and had a MBA degree from NYU, also testified that he didn't know that he had to file personal income tax returns) [Walzer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-200.].
575. The State Franchise Tax Board's garnishment of my wages to collect the taxes amounts to a violation of California's Elder Abuse Act [Ramnik Trivedi v. State of California, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7105 (No. B210713, Cal.App., 2d Dist., 1 September 2009).].
576. After I closed down my newspaper, I became a truck driver, and was too busy driving the truck out on the road to speak with my accountant [Lee Thomas v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-146.].
577. Dad was the only one who ever handled the taxes for the family business. He became terminally ill and debilitated, but out of love, devotion and respect to our family patriarch, we did not want to insult or dishonor him by taking away the leadership functions over the family business he had founded and run for over 30 years [In re Sykes & Sons, Inc., 188 B.R. 507 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 1995).
578. I shouldn't be penalized for not reporting the IRA distribution because when I did a Google search I couldn't find anything to indicate that the distribution was taxable, and besides, the money was stolen by the woman with whom I invested it (he was a lapsed CPA with a Harvard MBA) [Woodward v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-150.].
579. I was working to build his business at an investment banking firm. There was strife at the firm because of internal politicking, a dysfunctional board of directors, the shenanigans of management, negative repercussions from its mergers, and the effects of its weak capital structure and its releasing of stock before payment that caused it to implode. Also, the September 2001 terrorist attacks had a negative impact on the financial services industry. My father had a heart attack and subsequently died. I was just bumping along, but decided to grind it out because I believed things would improve. I found new employment late in 2002, but my income was reduced by 40 percent. I not realize that I was depressed. While I attempted to get back into my routine in 2004, I did not make estimated tax payments. [Grunsted v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-159.].
580. I shouldn't be liable for the tax deficiencies attributable to my wife's restaurant business because I am an IRS employee and if I am found liable I could lose my employment under the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 [Owen E. Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-237.].
581. I shouldn't be liable for Paradym's withholding taxes because I wasn't really the owner; the true owner was Back Porch Workout (which was solely owned by Petitioner and his family) and you have to try to collect from the other company first. … "Although petitioner offered a Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, for Paradym for tax year 2005, that document is not credible. Attached to the Form 1065 were two Schedules K1, Partner's Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc. The first Schedule K-1 was issued to Back Porch Workout and indicated that Back Porch Workout owned a 100-percent ownership interest in Paradym. The second Schedule K-1 was issued to Anyone with an address listed as None in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The purported Schedule K-1 showed a zero-percent ownership interest in Paradym. Not only was the Form 1065 created in 2007 after [the IRS] had begun collection proceedings, but petitioner testified that the second Schedule K-1 was fabricated because it was the only way to process a partnership return for Paradym using petitioner's and Mr. Idahosa's tax return preparation software." (He was a former IRS Revenue Agent) [Comensoli v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-242.].
582. We had an A+ lifestyle before mid-1987, but it became an F lifestyle after the Savings and Loan Association we bought ran into problems. We could no longer afford a housekeeper or a landscaping company after 1992, and could no longer afford new furniture and had to accept used furniture handed down from Mom. [Felt v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-245.].
583. I put off paying my taxes and never did so because I was irresponsible [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-11571 (29 September 2009).].
584. I claimed exemption from withholding and did not file or pay my income taxes I knew it was wrong, but decided to continue because the IRS was not paying attention and did not pursue me on it. [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-00505 (23 October 2009).].
585. "Long provided three inconsistent reasons why he did not pay his 1999, 2000, and 2001 personal federal income taxes. First, Long stated that he was aware that he did not pay his taxes, but that he had no money to do so. In his responses to the United States' interrogatories, Long stated that all his money earned in the years at issue 'went to gambling, alcohol, and drugs. I lost all the money earned and had no money to pay the taxes. I hoped [I] could win money to pay the taxes, but I lost all the money.' At trial, however, Long testified that he was not aware until 2005 that he did not pay his taxes, and that he thought [his accountant] was filing his returns and paying his taxes for him. Finally, Long also testified at trial - inconsistently -- that he thought the taxes for at least 2001 were being paid out of the proceeds of the sale of his McDonald's franchise. [transcript citations omitted]" [In re Robert Michael Long, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 3373 (Bankr., M.D. Fla., 2009).].
586. My marriage was unraveling, and it was in the best interests of my spouse and myself to delay filing so that we could try to salvage the marriage and file joint tax returns instead of each of us filing separately (he was disbarred from practice before the IRS for failing to file his own income tax returns for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005) [Office of Professional Responsibility v. Alex J. Llorente, U.S. Treasury, Disciplinary Appeal, Complaint No. 2008-03 (10 April 2009).
587. I failed to report my capital gains income on my tax returns because buying and selling stocks are my favorite hobby but I never understood the meaning of capital gains or losses, so I just ignored it [Ignatzi v. Canada, [2003] T.C.J. No. 91, 2003 TCC 60, [2003] 3 C.T.C. 2119 (Tax Ct. of Canada, 2003).].
588. I should get innocent spouse relief from my taxes because my ex-wife took money out of my bank account to pay the IRS for her own share of the overdue taxes [Maluda v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-281.].
589. I shouldn't be liable for the taxes of my single member limited liability company because the LLC was leased to another party who was permitted to use my LLC's taxpayer identification number [Leedreau LLC v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-195.].
590. We shouldn't have to pay the grower's assessment to the California Table Grape Commission because the Commission's advertisements lead the public to believe that all table grapes are equal, and after we pay the assessment we don't have enough money to advertise to the public that our grapes our superior to the others [Delano Farms Co. v. California Table Grape Commission, 586 F.3d 1219 (9th Cir. 2009).].
bookkeeper for another auditor, a bookkeeper who can do it on a more regular basis starting this year ... So, taking that into consideration and I love to pay tax but I hate to pay penalty. If possible, I would like to avoid it. [Hong Kong Inland Revenue Board of Review Case No. D49/08 (12 November 2009).].
572. "Petitioner asserts in a posttrial memorandum that he was 'duped by a charlatan and in essence Robert Gruntz tacitly implied that I should fabricate a log that would show material participation'. Petitioners assert that the liability would be a financial burden for their family and "petition the Court to consider reducing the liability, throwing [themselves] at the mercy of the court." They conclude with: "Just Google Robert Gruntz to see more." [Cunningham v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-194.].
573. The president of our company fell and hit her head, which caused complications with her neck and back, and the pain and pain medications impaired her both physically and mentally, so she couldn't file the payroll taxes on time. [Benton Workshop Inc. v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74521 (E.D. Ark., 2009).].
574. I was overwhelmed with the impending eviction of my manufacturing business and with finding a new place to locate the company (The taxpayer, who gained $40,000 from trading the securities markets and had a MBA degree from NYU, also testified that he didn't know that he had to file personal income tax returns) [Walzer v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-200.].
575. The State Franchise Tax Board's garnishment of my wages to collect the taxes amounts to a violation of California's Elder Abuse Act [Ramnik Trivedi v. State of California, 2009 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7105 (No. B210713, Cal.App., 2d Dist., 1 September 2009).].
576. After I closed down my newspaper, I became a truck driver, and was too busy driving the truck out on the road to speak with my accountant [Lee Thomas v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-146.].
577. Dad was the only one who ever handled the taxes for the family business. He became terminally ill and debilitated, but out of love, devotion and respect to our family patriarch, we did not want to insult or dishonor him by taking away the leadership functions over the family business he had founded and run for over 30 years [In re Sykes & Sons, Inc., 188 B.R. 507 (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 1995).
578. I shouldn't be penalized for not reporting the IRA distribution because when I did a Google search I couldn't find anything to indicate that the distribution was taxable, and besides, the money was stolen by the woman with whom I invested it (he was a lapsed CPA with a Harvard MBA) [Woodward v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-150.].
579. I was working to build his business at an investment banking firm. There was strife at the firm because of internal politicking, a dysfunctional board of directors, the shenanigans of management, negative repercussions from its mergers, and the effects of its weak capital structure and its releasing of stock before payment that caused it to implode. Also, the September 2001 terrorist attacks had a negative impact on the financial services industry. My father had a heart attack and subsequently died. I was just bumping along, but decided to grind it out because I believed things would improve. I found new employment late in 2002, but my income was reduced by 40 percent. I not realize that I was depressed. While I attempted to get back into my routine in 2004, I did not make estimated tax payments. [Grunsted v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-159.].
580. I shouldn't be liable for the tax deficiencies attributable to my wife's restaurant business because I am an IRS employee and if I am found liable I could lose my employment under the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 [Owen E. Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-237.].
581. I shouldn't be liable for Paradym's withholding taxes because I wasn't really the owner; the true owner was Back Porch Workout (which was solely owned by Petitioner and his family) and you have to try to collect from the other company first. … "Although petitioner offered a Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, for Paradym for tax year 2005, that document is not credible. Attached to the Form 1065 were two Schedules K1, Partner's Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc. The first Schedule K-1 was issued to Back Porch Workout and indicated that Back Porch Workout owned a 100-percent ownership interest in Paradym. The second Schedule K-1 was issued to Anyone with an address listed as None in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The purported Schedule K-1 showed a zero-percent ownership interest in Paradym. Not only was the Form 1065 created in 2007 after [the IRS] had begun collection proceedings, but petitioner testified that the second Schedule K-1 was fabricated because it was the only way to process a partnership return for Paradym using petitioner's and Mr. Idahosa's tax return preparation software." (He was a former IRS Revenue Agent) [Comensoli v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-242.].
582. We had an A+ lifestyle before mid-1987, but it became an F lifestyle after the Savings and Loan Association we bought ran into problems. We could no longer afford a housekeeper or a landscaping company after 1992, and could no longer afford new furniture and had to accept used furniture handed down from Mom. [Felt v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-245.].
583. I put off paying my taxes and never did so because I was irresponsible [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 08-11571 (29 September 2009).].
584. I claimed exemption from withholding and did not file or pay my income taxes I knew it was wrong, but decided to continue because the IRS was not paying attention and did not pursue me on it. [Matter of Anonymous, Defense Office of Hearings & Appeals, ISCR Case No. 09-00505 (23 October 2009).].
585. "Long provided three inconsistent reasons why he did not pay his 1999, 2000, and 2001 personal federal income taxes. First, Long stated that he was aware that he did not pay his taxes, but that he had no money to do so. In his responses to the United States' interrogatories, Long stated that all his money earned in the years at issue 'went to gambling, alcohol, and drugs. I lost all the money earned and had no money to pay the taxes. I hoped [I] could win money to pay the taxes, but I lost all the money.' At trial, however, Long testified that he was not aware until 2005 that he did not pay his taxes, and that he thought [his accountant] was filing his returns and paying his taxes for him. Finally, Long also testified at trial - inconsistently -- that he thought the taxes for at least 2001 were being paid out of the proceeds of the sale of his McDonald's franchise. [transcript citations omitted]" [In re Robert Michael Long, 2009 Bankr. LEXIS 3373 (Bankr., M.D. Fla., 2009).].
586. My marriage was unraveling, and it was in the best interests of my spouse and myself to delay filing so that we could try to salvage the marriage and file joint tax returns instead of each of us filing separately (he was disbarred from practice before the IRS for failing to file his own income tax returns for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005) [Office of Professional Responsibility v. Alex J. Llorente, U.S. Treasury, Disciplinary Appeal, Complaint No. 2008-03 (10 April 2009).
587. I failed to report my capital gains income on my tax returns because buying and selling stocks are my favorite hobby but I never understood the meaning of capital gains or losses, so I just ignored it [Ignatzi v. Canada, [2003] T.C.J. No. 91, 2003 TCC 60, [2003] 3 C.T.C. 2119 (Tax Ct. of Canada, 2003).].
588. I should get innocent spouse relief from my taxes because my ex-wife took money out of my bank account to pay the IRS for her own share of the overdue taxes [Maluda v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-281.].
589. I shouldn't be liable for the taxes of my single member limited liability company because the LLC was leased to another party who was permitted to use my LLC's taxpayer identification number [Leedreau LLC v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-195.].
590. We shouldn't have to pay the grower's assessment to the California Table Grape Commission because the Commission's advertisements lead the public to believe that all table grapes are equal, and after we pay the assessment we don't have enough money to advertise to the public that our grapes our superior to the others [Delano Farms Co. v. California Table Grape Commission, 586 F.3d 1219 (9th Cir. 2009).].
Tax Excuses 562 - 570
562. I don't have to follow the instructions on the tax return to substantiate my church contributions [Guerrero v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-164.].
563. My client did not file its information returns with the IRS on time because the bookkeeper they hired to replace my ex-wife, who was later fired for stealing from the organization, refused delivery of 20 boxes of records, so when the boxes were returned they were left on the front porch while we were away and when we got home the boxes were waterlogged and musty, so my ex-wife threw them out. [American Friends of Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim, Inc. v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47986, N.Y.L.J., 6/15/2009, p. 29, col. 3 (E.D.N.Y. 2009), magistrate's findings adopted 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65434, 104 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5747 (E.D.N.Y. 2009).].
564. I may have been complicit in the company's dishonest conduct, but the other directors of the company, who were also complicit, are trying to shift all of the blame to me [Gary Giles v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00077, [2009 UKFTT 109 (TC), 1st Tier Tribunal, Tax Centre, 18 May 2009).].
565. "When asked at trial whether he had reasonable cause for not filing, petitioner replied: 'Not within the confines of this court, no.'" [McGowan v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-172.].
566. I shouldn't have to pay taxes on my cigarettes because my husband is in the Army [Lucille Bousquet v. Commissioner of Revenue, Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board, Docket No. C293950 (9 July 2009).].
567. "The taxpayers stated they hoped the Tax Commission was not making a claim against them as living souls or because they had an abode in Idaho since that would be a form of slavery, being forced to pay to live in Idaho" ) [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21380, Idaho State Tax Comm. (19 February 2009).].
568. I experienced a significant increase in unforeseeable and extraordinary expenses from trying to reunite with my estranged children from my first marriage; I experienced an unexpected decrease in income from the March 2000 market downturn, which was further aggravated by the events of September 11, 2001, a capital call at my law firm, and a lack of work in my legal specialty. I believed that, because I did not have the money to pay my taxes, I could not file my returns [Matter of Gerald A. Eppner, 62 A.D.3d 151, 874 N.Y.S.2d 435 (App. Div., 1st Dept. 2009).].
569. The lateness penalty for not timely purchasing and affixing the amusement device tax decal ($50) should not be greater than the fee for the decal itself ($42) [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21409, Idaho State Tax Comm. (13 April 2009).].
570. My conviction for not filing my tax returns should be vacated because the threshold amount for filing is adjusted annually based upon the Consumer Price Index, which is promulgated by the Department of Labor and not the IRS (he was a radiologist whose gross income for the years at issue exceeded $1.5 million) [Charles Thomas Clayton v. Commissioner, 506 F.3d 405 (5th Cir. 2007), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 128 S. Ct. 1874, 170 L. Ed. 2d 745 (2008).].
563. My client did not file its information returns with the IRS on time because the bookkeeper they hired to replace my ex-wife, who was later fired for stealing from the organization, refused delivery of 20 boxes of records, so when the boxes were returned they were left on the front porch while we were away and when we got home the boxes were waterlogged and musty, so my ex-wife threw them out. [American Friends of Yeshivat Ohr Yerushalayim, Inc. v. United States, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47986, N.Y.L.J., 6/15/2009, p. 29, col. 3 (E.D.N.Y. 2009), magistrate's findings adopted 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65434, 104 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 5747 (E.D.N.Y. 2009).].
564. I may have been complicit in the company's dishonest conduct, but the other directors of the company, who were also complicit, are trying to shift all of the blame to me [Gary Giles v. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (No. TC00077, [2009 UKFTT 109 (TC), 1st Tier Tribunal, Tax Centre, 18 May 2009).].
565. "When asked at trial whether he had reasonable cause for not filing, petitioner replied: 'Not within the confines of this court, no.'" [McGowan v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-172.].
566. I shouldn't have to pay taxes on my cigarettes because my husband is in the Army [Lucille Bousquet v. Commissioner of Revenue, Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board, Docket No. C293950 (9 July 2009).].
567. "The taxpayers stated they hoped the Tax Commission was not making a claim against them as living souls or because they had an abode in Idaho since that would be a form of slavery, being forced to pay to live in Idaho" ) [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21380, Idaho State Tax Comm. (19 February 2009).].
568. I experienced a significant increase in unforeseeable and extraordinary expenses from trying to reunite with my estranged children from my first marriage; I experienced an unexpected decrease in income from the March 2000 market downturn, which was further aggravated by the events of September 11, 2001, a capital call at my law firm, and a lack of work in my legal specialty. I believed that, because I did not have the money to pay my taxes, I could not file my returns [Matter of Gerald A. Eppner, 62 A.D.3d 151, 874 N.Y.S.2d 435 (App. Div., 1st Dept. 2009).].
569. The lateness penalty for not timely purchasing and affixing the amusement device tax decal ($50) should not be greater than the fee for the decal itself ($42) [Matter of Anonymous, Dkt. No. 21409, Idaho State Tax Comm. (13 April 2009).].
570. My conviction for not filing my tax returns should be vacated because the threshold amount for filing is adjusted annually based upon the Consumer Price Index, which is promulgated by the Department of Labor and not the IRS (he was a radiologist whose gross income for the years at issue exceeded $1.5 million) [Charles Thomas Clayton v. Commissioner, 506 F.3d 405 (5th Cir. 2007), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 128 S. Ct. 1874, 170 L. Ed. 2d 745 (2008).].
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