Fifteen years ago, my best friend and his brother started a small company. They risked every penny they had, so they literally worked 12-16 hours, 7 days per week to make it fly. It was touch and go for awhile.

It was about 6 months before they could even start pulling meager salaries, but the business was growing so they kept “living slim” for the next few years so they could keep reinvesting in their little company.

Gradually, one brick at a time, they blossomed into a company with sales volumes in the low millions with about 10 employees. Still a small business, but doing great. Most of the employees have been there since the early days because they believe in healthy profit sharing, 401K contributions, health insurance, etc.  Even IRS audits were not painful, because the brothers don’t play games like company owned cars, boats, houses, etc.

BUT, during the most recent IRS audit, they were told they had to provide a detailed list of what their job related duties are.  When they asked why they needed to provide this, the answer was:

“We want to determine if what you do is actually worth the money you are paying yourself. We suspect that you are paying yourself excess salaries just avoid corporate taxes.”  

I know exactly what they make. While it’s certainly healthy, it’s not exorbitant. These guys are not millionaires. The tax court battle is going to be expensive and a bad outcome won't be good for the employees.

Welcome to today's America, now give me your wallet.

Marc

You mean, "Welcome to the Fourth Reich."

Maybe we should turn these auditors lose on Congress ... and let them find out what their "duties" are to see if we're paying THEM too much....

sorry about your friends... the IRS can be a pain in the rear - some of those auditors have a god complex and are out to make a name for themselves by being harda$$es. Tell 'em not to miss putting in "changing lightbulbs, fixing toliets, etc." in their job duties.

:-*

BarbaraD wrote on Aug 5^th, 2009 at 11:28am:

Maybe we should turn these auditors lose on Congress ... and let them find out what their "duties" are to see if we're paying THEM too much....

OMG, remember when Obama was appointing members of his cabinet/administration??  Remember how MANY of them had turned him down due to UNPAID TAXES??? :o

They are in America now, how dare they try and make a profit. Do they not know that there are people who have less then them. How dare they work hard and make a dream come true. :-?

The best thing Gil and I can do for ourselves right now, financially ,is retire.
Sad, but true- his job is melting with the economy, and he already has 2 pensions he collects each month. Next step is SS, at 62, and he hit that last month.
I highly doubt he'll make it past 4 weeks doing nothing, so I know he'll find some work, or invent something for himself, or, for all I know, he'll go crabbing each day.
Point is, it doesn't make much sense to be rich in today's world.........  

  Anything but crabbing Cathi. He'll end up in the Buoy 10 Tavern swapping lies with the rest of the crabbers. Listening to bad Blues played by drunk crabbers. anything but that. Just shoot em and get it over with. Hell the poor man could end up drinking at the Bay Haven Inn at the end of a crab trip with John Hutton and me. His life would be over at that point anyway. Doomed I tell ya.
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