IRS Abuse

The IRS has created Hell and Havoc for us for over 2 years now, using trumped up, concocted, evidence as to how we understated our expenses for the years 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996

In August 1995 we were first audited by the IRS. We were told that we had to have the audit in our home. This, our accountant told us was the first year that they had decided to go into peoples homes to see if they were living lifestyles above what was indicated on their tax returns. The first thing the Lady did was ask questions about how much money my wife withheld from bank deposits in the form of cash. Where did she hide it...wrapped up in the freezer? buried in the back yard?

She asked, "if you need any cash money where would you find it in your home? I told her that if I did, I'd have to ask her for it. She asked to use the rest room and cased our home as she went. She demanded that I show her the inside of my garage suggesting that we were hiding inventory or other items for sale. When she looked through our records, which had been stowed away in my garage for over two years (1993), she told me that she didn't like the way that we recorded the information and wanted to take some of it to her office so she could complete the audit.

Like an idiot, I allowed her to. She sent several summons' to us via the mail asking for bank records and check copies for the year 1993. Then she increased the audit to include 1994, resulting in more summons for records. Later, she wanted copies of all checks that we wrote from personal accounts. With this information, she was attempting to track movement of all our money. With this, she concluded that we made more money than we really did.

She explained to me initially that the IRS has a formula which applies to everybody when used could accurately determine their taxes even if the person didn't have good records. She certainly must have used it. When I was laid off in 1991 from my regular employment, I was unemployed during that year, all of 1992, and most of 1993, and some of 1994.

During 1993 and 1994, I was attempting to expand my wife's maintenance (business and homes) to schools, maintaining (cleaning and changing lights, etc.) their basketball and football scoreboards. This required the purchase of lots of specialized equip. and tools that are not normal to a cleaning service. This also required a lot of trial and error (and loss of money) trying to learn how to fix these items. Also, it required a lot of mileage on my aging pickup. She disallowed mileage thinking it was unreasonable and excessive, she disallowed travel and lodging for my wife's Mary Kay business, because on a couple of occasions, she allowed me to travel with her saying that most of the time she probably was with me rather that doing Mary Kay.

She basically made up her own mind, what she wanted to use and denying the claims made by us for the write-offs. Our second visit was to be in the home again. She delayed that meeting 3 successive time until the following February, and changed that audit to the IRS office downtown in San Jose, CA. We arrive at the building, there were no nameplates, just a cipher lock on the door. I had to go ask people where I was to go. Somebody finally let us in.

We were ushered to a auditor room. During that time, she told us that she needed to make copies of all of our bank records and that she would be gone for sometime. We were suspicious that there was a listening device, or a video camera in the room...and sure enough, my wife found a recording device taped to the underside of the table, just above my lap. When she entered the room, I demanded it be removed, and the
security manager came and removed it.

She later showed up at our house, did not ring the doorbell, walked past it into our entry and up to our kitchen where we were standing. She tells me that she was delivering another summons and that she knew that I was now working a 2nd job. My wife kicked her out. That is when we decided to hire and attorney and keep her from coming to our home and hassling us.

To date, we have spent over three thousand dollars and the little black cloud of owing what she said we owed (over 35,000 for 1993 and 1994) is still over our head. During this time, they have refunded money from 1993 ( a year they say I underpaid over $9,000, and applied it to 1995 (explain that).

They asked for an additional $1600 penalty for 1995 because our Wells Fargo Bookkeeping service apparently had not sent in our W3s and W2s. We paid it, only to have them ask to get it back. I made numerous calls for explanation, and was basically told pay it, don't question it. We do not have to explain before you pay.

Pay and then maybe we will explain. Next, I found a garnishment of about $500 from my pay check. I called and promised to pay the money back that was remaining. I was given a letter from my attorney that while I was trying to work out a payment plan with them on these issues, the IRS would stop all collection activity on me, So I did not pay the remaining...only to have them levy this account out of my wife's personal bank account, causing a whole bunch of checks to not clear.

It ain't over yet. Our marriage, because of all this stress is on the rocks.

It seems that these guys know they can damn well do anything they want on the small business person, because they know that they can use taxpayers money to push and push and push and the taxpayer can't afford to hire a high priced lawyer like large corporations. This is bad, really bad. I do not trust them, and in the future, no matter what changes they make, I will not talk to them without a lawyer. I hate living in this country, where congress allows this Mafioso band of guerrillas to rape its citizenry.