Brian Peterson went to his Supervisor. “Sir, while this is probably a suicide, there is no note and no evidence of intent to defraud the government. My view is that we’d get our heads handed to us on this.” “Thanks, Brian, let’s call the General Counsel and see what he has to say.” The called the Chief Counsel, “If we can’t prove fraud and have no probable cause to search for a note, there is no sense in wasting our time on this, prepare a closing letter.”

Three weeks later.
Becky saw the envelope from the IRS. It was thin. She tore it open and saw that it was a closing letter. She closed her eyes and let fly a deep sigh and put it in a file. Her next call was to the Mercedes dealer. “Might as well stimulate the economy”.

Next Tax Tale will deal with some crazy questions involving deaths in 2010 and basis issues on capital gains. With that, one precautionary word. If we have another foot of snow here in DC and the power or phone lines get damages, I might be off line for 24 hours. So, don’t give up on me.
J