I was watching “The Office” recently and got a kick out of Michael’s negotiation tactics. One classic line was that Wikipedia provided the most reliable information anywhere because anyone in the world could add to each entry and say whatever they want. Anyway, as a practicing attorney, I am constantly trying to improve upon my…
Monthly Archives: May 2007
An IRS Levy Doesn’t Leave Much to Live On
QUESTION: A question submitted recently was: I’ve received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy from the IRS. I know a levy is a bad thing, but, the IRS has to leave me money to live on, right? ANSWER: First of all, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day! You are correct, a…
Tax Gap – Reason for More IRS Audits?
QUESTION: I recently heard that the IRS is going to start doing more audits. Is this something I should be worried about? ANSWER: The “Tax Gap†is the difference in the amount of taxes actually shown on a return and the amount of taxes that should have been shown. The Tax Gap is a large…
Do I Have to Pay Taxes on Forgiven Debt?
QUESTION: Over the last few years I built up a lot of credit card debt, and have not been able to pay it.  A couple of years ago I received a letter from the credit card company that said they were writing off my debt and would not be trying to collect it any more. …
Lawyer Salesmanship 2: Figure Out How to Provide the Service
In my prior posts, I laid out my 10 steps for lawyers becoming better salesmen. The first step is to find out what the client wants. The second step in the process is to figure out how to provide the service your prospective client wants. Since you did such a good job listening in the…
I made all of our family’s money, but my spouse never filed a return
QUESTION: I am married and thought my husband had filed all of our taxes. I just found out that he has not filed our taxes since 2000. I have had the only income in our family since then so I have just started receiving notices and the IRS says I owe over $80,000. What can…