We get excited when cases like Arctic Systems take on importance but if you want light relief, then Taxable Talk has some great tales from the American courts. I particularly liked:
Delbert Kyler, appealed, he told the Court that the IRS, “extorts money and property,” “exploits the power of the United States for criminal thuggery,” and that the U.S. Attorney was “obviously unschooled in the legal arts … [and] expects this court to bend over backwards and kiss his … allegedly royal ass.”
That didn’t fly – costs $8,000. Or how about Mom and Dad Said I Didn’t Have to Pay Taxes with the classic commentary:
This Tax Court case is yet another entry in the “Don’t Try This Yourself” log. When you’re an adult, you get to make your own decisons; blaming your mother and father just doesn’t work. Being disowned by your parents is not a valid excuse to not pay your taxes.
Dang – that sounded like a good excuse to me. But sometimes Being In Jail Is a Good Excuse:
The IRS wants to place a levy or a lien against you. The IRS says they mailed the notice, but it ended up at the wrong prison (you were in Attica, but the letter was sent to Gowanda; both are New York prisons). You request a hearing. The IRS sets a date for a conference (two years later), but the IRS chooses a date while you’re in solitary confinement and attending is out of the question. The IRS goes ahead with the levy. You go to Tax Court claiming you never had your fair hearing.
The Tax Court found that the petitioner had vigorously contested all his legal problems and it was likely he never received the original notice (it did, after all, go to the wrong prison). And the IRS should have rescheduled its conference; heading to New York City while you’re in solitary confinement just isn’t possible. The Tax Court ordered the IRS to give the petitioner a fair hearing.
Apologies for stealing the whole of this one but it struck me that UK readers would see this as a form of blessing. Do our tax courts get these kind of cases? Can we both delight in the American freedom of speech and yet recognise that sometimes it leads to a form of legal insanity with which we can quietly relate? How many clients do you have who think taxation is legalised theft? I had my share – I probably encouraged that thinking.
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