BulldogTom

We could do a partnership you know. The standard ATX license goes for three installs. We could have Lodi, Hollister, and Modesto. Tom Hollister, CA

You better watch out KC. I will take you up on that offer. But you better talk to my wife. I am a tough boss. Tom Hollister, CA

How much did you pay in productivity licenses. Microsoft office pro? That is always the one I choke on. Every hardware upgrade gets a microsoft license. Tom Hollister, CA

Sure it is. Then you need to by the productivity software (microsoft office, adobe acrobat, and all the other things you use that won't go on the new o/s). Sorry Jack, I normally don't contradict you on most things, but hardware and productivity software are not as cheap as you are making it out for a small company like mine. Tom Hollister, CA

Sure, cost. I run a small business and changing computers ever 2-3 years would hurt my bottom line. I got 6 seasons out of my last setup. I hope to get the same out of this one. I would love to get new hardware every year. It just ain't in the budget. Tom Hollister, CA

I wouldn't call it a peculiarity, I would call it something different....but KC would have to kick me off the board. Tom Hollister, CA

The point is...they have fined me without any proof. They said "we don't want to ask you who you are and why you can practice, we are sending you a bill for $2500 and daring you not to bow down to us". I have every right to practice in this state. And if they don't think so, they should ask me. Not send me a bill. Who the FRIK are these dirty bastards, treating us like this is some frikkin totalitarian government. I hate CA government. Tom Hollister, CA

Received a letter today from our friendly Republic. Mr. Bulldogtom, you owe us $2,500 because we think you are filing taxes and we don't have a record of you being a CTEC registered preparer. If of course, you can prove that we are wrong, we will abate the penalty. Lets see, I have power of attorney on file with them for several of my clients. I have a PTIN number. I have been filing taxes for 15 years in this state. And at the bottom of every return I prepare, it has my name followed by an EA and my federal tax ID number. What a bunch of crap. Those lousy lazy bastards are just looking to steal. I love the way I am guilty because they say so, and must prove I am not or they will take my property. Those bastards never read, and if they did, they never understood the constitution. Tom Hollister, CA

If DOMA is struck down, and the IRS says same sex married gets treated exactly like other married couples, then wouldn't it follow that RDP would go away in CA? I know that some older couples have used RDP status for tax and other reasons, but I would think that RDP would simply vanish in CA and your choice is to get married or file single. Do you think RDP status would survive in CA if DOMA is struck down? Tom Hollister, CA

That is a very interesting comment. I am assuming (always dangerous) that if the court overturns DOMA, you will not have the complications that your same-sex clients have now? Are you contemplating the IRS will automatically apply married rules to your RDP clients? And do you think that will take place by the time tax season rolls around. I have listened to your posts about your clients, and I have marveled at how you have created a niche for yourself. Final question. Will you have enough retention of your clients if your specialty goes by the wayside? If this is too personal, just say so. I have always wanted to talk to you about your practice, but did not want to do it so much in public, unless you want to. Tom Hollister, CA

Considering she ended up in jail, I thought you did represent her. Tom Hollister, CA

I went to a Drake seminar a couple years ago. Very well worth doing. I learned that I liked ATX input better. But it was very informative and I really liked the company, sales people, and their presentation. I just wasn't ready to pull the trigger. I would very much recommend that anyone who is looking at Drake attend their workshop. It is not a hard sell. It is very informative, and it is like getting the first two hours of training if you do decide to take it. Tom Hollister, CA

Ummm......yeah!

Looking at Dallas at the end of July. Hoping to meet up with Eli. I would have gone to San Diego (I love San Diego) but I have a state seminar that weekend. Probably staying at the Gaylord Texan. Tom Hollister, CA

OK, here is what I would do, 1. Determine if you are going to get paid. Is this charity work or are you going to get paid. Because it is going to take a lot of your time. Can they compensate you. Of course, if it is pro bono, or at a very reduced rate, then decide if you can give away those billable hours. If you take this on, they will need you and you should not quit on them. 2. Take a total inventory of everything they have. Make sure you know if they have family silver, grandpa's gold watch, china from the 20's that great grandma passed down. You need to know what they have. Everything. 3. Determine what they will sell to get out of this mess. If they won't sell their stuff, they aren't serious. It won't do any good to go on from here. 4. Either you do the books or have them get someone in who will. IRS will never believe the numbers if there isn't some degree of competence behind them. The wife was part of the problem. Need to show that there is someone the IRS can trust to give accurate business results. 5. Call the IRS and ask for a very reduced payment plan. I think you said they could come up with between $500 and $2000 per month. Put them on a payment plan at whatever they can afford and get the collection activity stopped. Convice the IRS that the new bookkeeper is straightening them out, that compliance is now in place, and that with better business management, more payments will be coming down the road. Buy some time. 6. As soon as the wife has surgery, file a new offer. Try again based on the serious illness causing doubt as to collectability. Hopefully you will have a year or so of timely payments and a better picture of what the future looks like for the business. Get a business valuation to show the value. If she is going to be 65, can she get on social security? How far is he from social security. If all the IRS can see is two sick people on social security and medicare who are willing to sell their business and live on government benefits, you might have a chance. This is my plan. I give it a 30% chance of success. Like I said, this is not going to be easy. Tom Hollister, CA

Nice victim talk. Just like I predicted. You spout your racism labels all over the place, then retreat like the little dumb a$$ liberal TAXED who has been hurt. Now I am threatening you? Get over your victim complex you dumb a$$. I am calling you out for what you are. If that is threatening to you, that is your problem (isn't that what you said to me in the PM?) "where are the moderators" in your whiny a$$ victim voice. Looking for someone to come save you from someone who won't back down and won't take your Dumb A$$ Crap. You started it. I gave you the chance to apologize. You got offended that any words that came out of your typewriter were not offensive. Now you are offended. You jerk. I told you this is where it would go, and I am not backing down. You don't like it, leave. Don't post anymore and spout your racist baiting hatred on this board. If you want this to end, do the right thing and apologize. Otherwise, your dumb a$$ comments will be answered by this right wing republican at every post. Tom Hollister, CA

I am very sorry. My jabs were intened for one person on this board. It was not you. I will make sure in the future to talk only about "that dumb a$$ liberal TAXED" so as not to offend anyone else who considers themselves a liberal. By the way, it was me who had the idea about EIC going to the states. Tom Hollister, CA

You are correct. You should not be making statements regarding the viability of the corporation unless you are specifically hired to do so. It sounds like your engagement was limited to the preparation of the tax return, and if you have an engagement letter, it should say something like you did not audit the records and relied on the information provided by the client. You cannot attest to what you do not know. I would politely decline. Tom Hollister, CA

Respectable. You called right wing republicans racists. Real respectable. I am a right wing republican. You called me a racist. I will never let you forget that insult. Go ahead and play the victim. Isn't that what small minded race baiting dumb a$$ libs like you do? Tom Hollister, CA

Who is going to decided what in a background check keeps you from owning a gun? The government? Ha! They will take them from everybody. That is why the constitution specifically give the right to keep and bear arms. It is a personal right. Now some crazy libs want to make that a privilege, subject to permission of the government. That is not what the constitution says. If those dumb a$$ libs wouldent have weakened our punishment system, and our law enforcement had real teeth instead of being another supid social engineering experiment, then criminals would be afraid of using a gun as a crime. If you know you will hang in the public square for your crime, you might think again. But the race baiting dumb a$$ libs will see race in everything and find a way to excuse the unacceptable behavior of some socially disadvantaged or ethnic group and scream racism. Then they will blame it on republicans and fox news, because their tiny minds can't think that for themselves. Isn't that right TAXED. You have a tiny mind that only spits out the liberal garbage that you see on MSN. Bet you are a big fan of Rachel Maddow. See race in everything you think about. Would you allow background checks to limit the right of the people in the inner city to own a gun because there is no place to hunt there? Makes perfect liberal sense. OH - but that would be racial based in your tiny little mind that does not understand a world where race is not a factor in anything. Your superior sense of self decrees that you are right all the time. And even when you are wrong, you can't admit it. You just keep drivelling on about how great the toker in chief is and how his policies will save us all. What a sad existence your liberal mind must dwell in. Tom Hollister, CA

Why Ammo? If you have a gun, why a background check on ammo? That is just more liberal drivel. You passed a check to get a gun, now we are going to check again for ammo? How frikkin stupid is that? Only a dumb a$$ lib would think that is a good idea. Tom Hollister, CA

WITAXLADY, Jainen is giving you some very excellent advice. You are trying to be sympathetic to your clients, but they need to hear that what they did is theft. They need to understand that the IRS does not give a crap about their lives, lifestyle or desires. They want the money that your clients stole from the government and the employees. What you are telling the IRS is that they will not be able to collect the money. What the IRS sees is they are able to save money to buy new machinery. That doesn't add up. You are trying to say that they need to stay in business to keep ten people employed. The IRS sees a theif with ten potential victims on their payroll. Somehow, you need to get past the idea that this is a program that with just the right verbage in the narrative and the right combination of made up numbers on the 433 that the IRS will just automatically approve the offer. It ain't like that. That is not how the program works. If there is future potential earnings that they can take at will (via levies and seizures) over time to get more than you are offering, that is the best course for the government. Your job is to convince the government that they will get more now than they will get over time. How you do that, given the information that you provided here, is going to be a real challenge. It doesn't help that there are commercials on all night long that say "you can erase your tax debt by calling this 800 number.". We all know that ain't so either. Don't take anything you are hearing as a personal attack on your abilities and competence. It is not. Jainen and the others are pointing out the issues with your offer. And there are issues. They need to be resolved. Just my 2 cents. Tom Hollister, CA

Called OPR this morning. Suprise suprise, I got an answering machine that said leave a message and we will call you back. Doesn't anyone with a government job work anymore. Tax returns still stuck from Jan e-files, applications submitted on the first day of the renewal period not processed. The IRS is just frikkin' lazy. Tom Hollister, CA

And this is why we love Jainen.

I just realized that my new enrollment card did not arrive in the mail yet. I sent everything in back in Nov. Put my new address on the application and also sent a fax telling them my new address. Anyone who had to renew in this cycle not get their card? Tom Hollister, CA