Charles Ulrich: American Hero

[ducatiz]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26379805/

If more people had the perseverance and intelligence of this guy, we'd be in a much better state regarding our government.

WASHINGTON - It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute.

Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory.

The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies.
Story continues below

[darylbowden]

Yeah, I read this story the other day.  Pretty amazing.  Always great to see the little man take on the government and win.

[ducatiz]

Yeah, I read this story the other day.  Pretty amazing.  Always great to see the little man take on the government and win.

and help out a lot of other ppl in the process.

that's the fun part.  i wonder how many millions the IRS has fleeced people for this?

[OwnyTony]

and help out a lot of other ppl in the process.

that's the fun part.  i wonder how many millions the IRS has fleeced people for this?

What I remembered after reading this and telling myself, "I wonder if the IRS had any bearing as to how late the verdict came out".  What I mean is that a lot of the mutual funds going public (if i remember correctly) happened something like 7 years ago.  The article mentions statute of limitation being 3 years long.

[ducatiz]

What I remembered after reading this and telling myself, "I wonder if the IRS had any bearing as to how late the verdict came out".  What I mean is that a lot of the mutual funds going public (if i remember correctly) happened something like 7 years ago.  The article mentions statute of limitation being 3 years long.

good point.  I wonder if the SoL runs from the time you've filed or the time that you've discovered the IRS has made an error.

[darylbowden]

good point.  I wonder if the SoL runs from the time you've filed or the time that you've discovered the IRS has made an error.

IN the article I read, it said it was from the time you filed.

[OwnyTony]

IN the article I read, it said it was from the time you filed.

Which turns out to be a pretty broke deal to most of the people who "suffered" under what the IRS was doing.  The icing on the cake is that now, the people affected by what the IRS did to them not only suffer a loss, they find out that they they were illegally wronged but have no ways to make it right (the SoL ran out on them).

[ducatiz]

that bites

this is something that writing to your congressman cna fix.

they can pass a law addressing this.  i don't know if enough people will sign on to it, but there is no loss and plenty of gain for some people.

seems to me the SoL for IRS errors should be tolled from the time the taxpayer discovers the error.