Posted on 12/06/2009 12:48:00 PM PST by Publius
Rachel Porcaro knows she's hardly rich. When you're a single mom making 10 bucks an hour, you don't need government experts to tell you how broke you are.
But that's what happened. The government not only told Porcaro she was poor. They said she was too poor to make it in Seattle.
It all started a year ago, when Porcaro, a 32-year-old mom with two boys, was summoned to the Seattle office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She had been flagged for an audit.
She couldn't believe it. She made $18,992 the previous year cutting hair at Supercuts. A few hundred of that she spent to have her taxes prepared by H&R Block.
"I asked the IRS lady straight upfront 'I don't have anything, why are you auditing me?' " Porcaro recalled. "I said, 'Why me, when I don't own a home, a business, a car?' "
The answer stunned both Porcaro and the private tax specialist her dad had gotten to help her.
"They showed us a spreadsheet of incomes in the Seattle area," says Dante Driver, an accountant at Seattle's G.A. Michael and Co. "The auditor said, 'You made eighteen thousand, and our data show a family of three needs at least thirty-six thousand to get by in Seattle."
"They thought she must have unreported income. That she was hiding something. Basically they were auditing her for not making enough money."
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
Remember that the parents that are most admired were those that cared for friends and family with out the hand out and lived within their means.
One of the problems today is the lack of the extended family. My family grew up in Uninta, Ducehene, and Summit Counties in Utah, dirt poor we survived through cooperation.
I’m sure many members of my family could use some help. They are to proud to ask.
bump
Make a very careful list of cost and condition and current value...If you did not get photos go back and find them from family gatherings etc. Receipts from the agency are usually blank...fill them out...12 boxes, 32 items on hangers...etc.
Submit it with the return...they do not need it, but will have it and know you did your homework...haven’t bothered me about donations with this system and I have used it for years.
Next time take photos of the items...piles or boxes and large items too.
This happened to a friend of mine in Montgomery, AL, back in the late 70’s or early 80’s. The IRS audited her because they didn’t believe she could support herself and her son on what she made working for the State of Alabama.
So I guess they are still at it . . . accusing people of having too little money instead of auditing rich people.
REPEAL THE 16th AMENDMENT!
I believe that Pride can be a sin.
It is. It only hurts to believe you are without need.
That’s SOP.
My husband was a tax accountant and all the Earned Income Credit girls used to go to H&R Block because they could get their “refund” that day in the form of high interest loan.
Don’t know if H&R still practices this rip off, since my husband died three years ago.
A few years ago, Target was advertising in Bellingham for clerks at a store in Woodenville, an hour and a half away. They paid $9/hr, drove the employees to Woodenville and paid them for the travelling time. The reason was that no one in the greater Seattle area would work for less than $13/hr.
One thing your list dosn’t take into account
Joe legal at $25per hr costs his employer app $50 per hr
Jose on the other hand at $15 under the table costs his employer $15, less than 1/3 of Joe’s expense.
I go to Great Clips, (Male haircut) $16, I always tip at least $5, if she is a conservative I tip $10, true story.....
Thank you for sharing this story. It is ridiculous, pathetic, and sickening that the IRS can and does get away with such behavior. What do they want to do - cause an uprising?
wow ... good point!
Hell, the way things are going, a federal prison is starting to sound rather nice. Free room and board and free (better) healthcare. Maybe even tennis courts and jacuzzi. I foresee a LOT of people refusing to pay their taxes very soon. Those that are lucky enough to still have an income, that is.
If everyone that was unfairly audited went public with their story, the public opinion backlash might just put a stop to this bs. I recall a time years back when they were calling themselves the kinder, friendlier IRS. That didn’t last, but at least it proved they know they’re vulnerable.
The last thing the IRS wants is for people to get collectively outraged and STOP paying their taxes. The IRS knows it neither has the manpower nor the intelligence to go after EVERY single tax protestor.
Again, publicizing every instance of IRS abuse would help, IMO. Especially considering how many of our illustrious politicians have “erred” in paying their fair share.
Legislators ought to be legally required to undergo IRS audit. Too bad they’re the ones writing law. :(
If they don’t audit the anomalies who are they supposed to audit? That is how you catch tax cheats, they’re the ones whose reported income can’t possibly pay for their lifestyle.
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