Latest Good Reads

Have you caught gold fever?

The 2010 Christmas price index

How do team sports help develop girls into future leaders?

Accounting prof arrested for stripping naked in front of his class

Absurd tax quote of the century

Ex-Football Player Jailed for Punching His Accountant

From WebCPA.com:

Florida Circuit Court Judge John Brown sentenced the 57-year-old former NFL player to 11 months and 29 days in jail on Monday and ordered him to attend anger management classes, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

Bruner was found guilty of felony battery in August, but was acquitted of retaliating against a witness. His accountant, Wayne Montgomery, accused him of striking him several times during a meeting at Bruner’s home in July of last year. Bruner was upset that Montgomery hadn’t been able to do more to help him get a larger refund from the IRS, and he accused Montgomery of working for the accounting firm Carr, Riggs and Ingram, which Bruner had sued. Bruner is the former owner of an amusement attraction called Big Kahuna’s water park.

Montgomery testified that Bruner first waved a fake gun and yelled at another man who was present at the meeting. After the other man walked out of the room, Bruner took out his aggressions on his CPA, punching him in the eye, pushing him face down onto a recliner, and then punching him repeatedly in the head, neck and back.

Montgomery said that Bruner later called him in January at 4:38 in the morning and threatened him, “Battery, battery, battery. You just think battery. That was not battery. You ain’t seen battery. Next whipping I’m giving you real battery. I’m going to destroy you and your property in Alabama and Tennessee.”

Funny Gift for the Tax Pro in your Life!

The holiday season is almost over, but if you are looking for a funny gift to give your accountant or tax preparer then head on over to PrankPlace.com. For only $3.49 you can get a roll of IRS Form 1040 toilet paper. Here is the description:

Does it pain you to fill out a tax form each year? Does knowing that the IRS takes a large chunk of your salary give you the runs? This product isn't deductible, but it'll sure make you feel better. A collage of the 1040 IRS Form is printed throughout the whole roll!

After Busy Season, Accountants Get a Well-Deserved Tax Break

The Dallas news wrote up a great article on how those of us working in the tax industry get to finally take a sigh of relief, now that tax season is over. You can find a snippet of the post below, but the full story can be read here.

As we breathe a sigh of relief now that we finally filed our taxes, another group is also breathing easier:

The accountants and tax preparers who have worked all-nighters and weekends and skipped family functions to process the endless piles of tax returns.

For them, tax time is taxing.

Today, many are sleeping in, hung over or jetting off on vacation.

Before April 16, never ask accountants how they're doing, James A. Smith advises.

But today is a different story, a fresh start for tax preparers across the land who've scanned hundreds, if not thousands, of returns.

"You suddenly feel a little bit lighter," said Smith, a certified public accountant in Dallas. "Even though you're exhausted, you can breathe this big, deep breath and let it out there and let go of the stress and tension.

"You don't feel you weigh as much as you did five minutes ago."

Across the country, firms organize celebratory buffets, picnics and cocktail parties for their employees for a job well done and to mark the end of the so-called busy season.

Tax preparers polled by the National Association of Tax Professionals said they often take it easy for a couple of days after April 15.

One firm closes down at noon and employees rent a limo and go out for lunch. Many go on vacation, although one tax preparer said she takes a break before tax season so she can remember the beach when she's working late at night.

Last night, employees at Sibley & Co. in Dallas were planning to head out for hamburgers.

The firm will be closed today and Friday to help employees recover. They are "just flat tired," said Ken Sibley, the firm's founder. He's taking his wife to Florida for a week – and he plans to sleep on the plane.

"We have been working an average of 12 to 15 hours a day for six days a week and a lot more than I would want to on Sundays," Sibley said. "It's just been very, very intense."

During Tom Ochsenschlager's first tax season, a manager described the process as running an "intellectual marathon."

Disgruntled Taxpayer Rams Car into IRS Building

From AccountingWeb.com:

“A 48-year-old resident of Center Point, AL who was apparently upset about his finances, rammed his car into the Birmingham, AL IRS building on Tuesday.

After a phone call with the IRS, in which the man, who has not been named in the press, threatened an IRS agent, the agent called Birmingham police. A Jefferson County sheriff was dispatched to the man's house where he was told by the man's wife that the man had left his house. The wife told authorities that the man was armed.

The wife provided the sheriff with the man's cell phone number. When a dispatcher from the sheriff's office contacted the man on his phone, the man indicated he intended to kill himself.

According to a report in the Birmingham news, the dispatcher tried to calm the man down and asked where he was, but the man said not to worry about where he was. He said he was going to drive himself off a cliff and then everybody would know his location.

The man did not appear to be injured after driving his car into the IRS building, but was taken to Cooper Green Mercy Hospital for evaluation. No one at the IRS office was injured in the crash.

No formal charges have been filed, however Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Henry Irby indicated that the man could face state and federal charges.”

Group of Tax-Exempt Firms Owe Over $1B in Taxes

According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, nearly 55,000 tax-exempt organizations owed over $1 billion in unpaid federal taxes at the end of September 2006. However, the report said the $1 billion figure is likely understated because "some exempt organizations have understated tax liabilities or did not file tax returns." The GAO investigated 25 exempt organizations and found abuses and possible criminal activity, including failures to remit payroll taxes withheld from employees. Some of these companies’ leaders diverted money to their own bank accounts, which they spent on million-dollar homes and luxury vehicles. You can read the full report at the Washington Post Blog.