venting a personal problem

[williamthebloody]

if youve been on this forum for a while, you may already know that i co-own a small business in the medical field. in 2007, the IRS decided to audit us. this is finally winding down, and something has come up. it seems that a single document was missing from our life insurance company. a document which should have been filed in 1997 (the IRS will rape your ass going back to 10 years when they audit you). naturally we contacted the insurance company to find out about this missing document, why it wasn't filed, etc. the life insurance company has never heard of such a document and has no idea what the IRS is talking about. we told the IRS guy this, and he said he wasn't familiar with this document either, but said something to the effect of "but rules is rules".
now it looks like we could be fined. the fines accumulate to about 25,000 USD.
this is not a financial document that is missing. no money changed hands regarding it, but it is apparently THAT important (also, i didn't own the company back then as i was 19 years old at the time). we could hire a tax attourney to fight this outrageous claim, but honestly, fighting the federal government might cost us more than the fines.
we are conference calling with the IRS guy on monday to talk about this further.
where would i, or the average small business owner, scrounge up 25, 000 USD? kind of freaking out a tad. this is more money than i could afford pay.

[JimmyMisanthrope]

Holy.... shiiii.
Is there anything I could do to help out? Being a freelance illustrator, and ergo perpetually poor, I could prolly pledge a pecuniarily pathetic $100 NZD or so to help out...
Yes its a fart in a hurricane but its something?

[williamthebloody]

oh nonononononono...
i as in NO WAY looking to ask people for money. just needed to get it offa my chest, as it is a bit of a soul crushing problem. people here have just always been so supportive that i could use the positive energy

[Squeek]

Holy fucking SHIT, Will!! I am SO sorry....
I seriously hope you all are able to get this worked out...
My family has been involved in owning small businesses in the past,
so I can relate to this ever so slightly....
Really it usually ends up the owners of small businesses loose more money than they make..
There are so many bass-ackward loop-holes and problems with American
economy that make it so difficult to make a buck, let alone save
money and afford living on a day to day basis..

but that's so freaking shitty.....I wish there was some way that I could help..

[Scissorhands]

That is an OUTRAGE

[Slinker]

Pay for a document no one has heard of? Those greedy........

[alphatroll]

How to get the $25,000?

SIMPLE

Sue the insurance company (or rather, have a lawyer tell them you're willing to sue). Your case is obviously rock-solid if the IRS can fine you over it. Even an insurance company wouldn't stand a chance; if they're even slightly competent at *being* an insurance company, they'll settle for costs plus a little extra for your trouble without any fuss at all. And of course any self-respecting shyster would jump for even a small percentage of such a certain payoff.

After all, that's what insurance companies are FOR. Just make sure your auditor gives you copies of every scrap of paper that's even remotely relevant.

If YOU'RE liable, then so are THEY.

[williamthebloody]

i gotta mention, i wasn't the one involved directly in any of the aforementioned communications. my co-owner and colleague has been handling all aspects of the audit. he brought all of this to my attention yesterday (i was surprised to learn he was able to talk to a government employee on a saturday). it's going to sound odd, but after my phone conversation with him, i practically immediately jumped onto here to blab about it because i was just so flabbergasted that i didn't know what else to do. i was still reeling from it that i didn't think to make that clear to you guys reading this at the time. i have since been turning it over in my mind and have a few questions of my own to go over with both my colleague and the IRS guy tomorrow. we'll see.

[williamthebloody]

okay. so this situation is a bit better, but not yet completely resolved.

basically, our accountant says that the insurance company should have filed this document, but the insurance company says some one else should have, and every one is blaming everyone else.

but!

it seems that when the IRS guy spoke with my colleague and quoted him the ridiculous amount of 25,000 USD, this was just an off the top of his head ballpark estimate on his part. this IRS guy has since talked to some of his colleagues and NOW theyre saying it's looking more like 8,000 USD. granted, this isn't awesome, but 8,000 is doable. we can definitely field that amount with some crafty accounting.

however!

once again, this new figure of 8,000 USD is NOT final. the IRS have yet to draft their final report and submit this fine to us in writing. and until they do, the amount can continue to change. heck, for all i know it could jump right back up to 25,000 or even worse. i am much more relaxed over this issue now, but won't be completely at ease until we actually receive all this finalized and in writing.

thanks for listening, all

[Squeek]

$8,000 is definitely less brain-shattering than $25,000-
but it still hurts my head to imagine having to pay that amount out...
I really hope you get this settled and don't have to pay any,
let alone an obscene amount..

[Teim]

Jesus Christ!

At least it's more likely to be 8,000.. but man, that's still loads..

[alphatroll]

Dude, you need to post this someplace where lawyers will see. They'll be offering *you* money for the chance to take the case!

Insurance companies exist to absorb unexpected expenses. If said expense was caused by the insurance company, so much the better....