Cincinnati Tax Resolution - June 2021

Cincinnati Tax Resolution - June 2021

JUNE 2021 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 6

TOPH’S TAX RESOLUTION T IMES

513-342-4000 WWW.513TAX.COM

Any business owner will tell you: Trying to achieve a work–life balance is incredibly difficult. Sometimes, it can feel downright impossible. Whether you’re self-employed and have just a couple employees, or you work with a small team, “balance” can often feel like a fairy tale. When you have young kids in the mix, it can be even harder, particularly when you want to spend time with your family. You might have days when the phone is ringing off the hook and you’re scrambling to keep up with every request. And then you have days that are practically dead silent. As a tax professional, when tax season hits, the phone calls ramp up. The business is good, but balance is nowhere to be found. My family time can be disrupted. As you build your business — and with an ever-changing schedule — the struggle isn’t so much trying to find your ideal work–life balance. It’s more about finding consistency. I think about my kids and their extremely consistent days. They’re all under age 7, so their lives aren’t going to get any simpler. They wake up at the same time, go to school at the same time, come home from school at the same time, and go to bed at the same time. Rinse and repeat. My goal as dad is to work with their schedule. I wear too many hats to count, but I’ll always keep my “dad” hat nearby. I know my kids are going to want to see dad around 5 or 5:30 p.m. At our house, that’s the witching hour. If I’m not home, I’m going to hear about it! So, I structure my day around that expectation. I know I need to wrap up what I’m doing by 5 p.m. I might get back to work later in the evening, but 5 is a stopping point. I want to be home to be with the kids, help out around the house, get dinner ready, and so on. One of my biggest suggestions to business owners who are parents to young kids (or will be parents in the near future) is to carve out family time. You may be dedicated to the growth and success of your business, but your kids will know when you’re not there. Finding Balance as a Business Owner AND a Parent!

Here’s what you can do to build some consistency within your day: Most importantly, schedule as much as you can. Rely on a daily calendar. Schedule blocks of time for specific tasks, such as email, outgoing phone calls, meetings, and various forms of “busy work.” Then block time for your family. You can even try to shape your schedule around your kids’ schedule. You maximize your time with your family without compromising your work schedule. The bottom line is, I’m going to make time to chase the kids around the back yard, to walk with them to the creek, and go on family walks around the neighborhood. Finding time is not easy. Finding balance is not easy. But I know I have a business to run and I have family to be there for, so I’ll do what I can to get as close to balance as possible. I can do it — you can do it, too!

–Toph Sheldon

WHEN THE IRS COMES KNOCKIN’ ... LET US ANSWER THE DOOR!

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The IRS Acts in Mysterious Ways

THE STORY OF LUNGILE MHLANGA

The client’s name and personal details have been changed to protect the identity of those involved. However, the tax results are 100% factual!

The Founder of Treats Club Following your passion can take you to some pretty unexpected places, but few entrepreneurs can personally attest to that as well as Lungile Mhlanga, the founder of Treats Club. This innovative company offers a unique approach to getting customers freshly baked goods, even when COVID-19 spread across the world. During college, Mhlanga had a part-time job as a makeup consultant with Benefit Cosmetics. She loved this work so much that she dropped out of college to work there full time. A few years later, she took a position working for MAC Cosmetics at Harrods, a famous London department store. Honing her customer service skills, she soon ended up becoming a manager and trainer for MAC, working in Dubai, the Middle East, and India. After she quit her job at MAC, Mhlanga found herself back in London, wondering what to do next. She recalled the praise she had received for some of her baked goods, and that was when her foray into the baking business started. Mhlanga began posting some of her baked goods on Instagram, even scoring her former employer, MAC Cosmetics, as a corporate customer. Then, as fortune would have it, she got a chance to go on “An Extra Slice,” a sister TV show to the popular series “The Great British Bake Off.” On the show, Mhlanga was selected as “star baker,” validating her desire to turn her passion for baking into a “proper business.” And so, Treats Club was born. Mhlanga made tasty treats, including hot doughnuts, for customers at markets all over London — and not even a pandemic could stop her. Mhlanga simply pivoted into her new circumstances without much fuss, putting together kits that customers could use to make her hot doughnuts themselves. After being featured on popular morning TV show “Sunday Brunch,” she had over 200 orders for the kits.

Lewis is a self-employed sales rep. He’s constantly on the road, traveling around a large region of the country in order to meet with his own customers and make sales. However, in 2018, the IRS hit Lewis with a bombshell: He owed $110,000.

This brought Lewis’ financial life to a standstill. He met with Toph to figure out the situation. Toph filed an Offer in Compromise with the IRS in an attempt to settle the debt. The offer? $1,500. The IRS took its time bringing a response to the table. It wasn’t until a year later in 2019 that they denied the offer. They reasoned that Lewis was not putting excessive miles on his car and that he had more money left over after expenses than he was reporting.

Toph filed an appeal. Once again, the IRS took its time. Toph handed the IRS all the documentation they needed in order to verify Lewis’ expenses — and that he was, in fact, driving a high number of miles as part of his job. Just before the start of the pandemic, the IRS returned an answer: No deal! Toph requested a Manager’s Conference, which is standard protocol when there’s a clear disagreement. With the request in, the IRS went dark again as the pandemic began slowing things down further. With the IRS taking so long, Toph decided to enlist the help of the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent office within the IRS that focuses on taxpayer rights. Toph wasn’t gaining much traction with the IRS itself, so they wanted to see what the TAS had to say. What he learned was surprising. The TAS revealed that the IRS had ACCEPTED the initial offer. But the IRS hadn’t sent Toph any hint of this decision. This couldn’t be right, could it? Where was the paperwork? It was good news, but Toph wanted to see the documentation. Finally, in March 2021, the documentation arrived: Toph received the acceptance letter from the IRS. They had accepted the initial offer of $1,500! He called Lewis and told him the news. Lewis had agonized for three years about his $110,000 tax debt with the IRS. Then the IRS dragged it out for as long as they could, even dragging out the fact that they accepted the offer! It was over and Lewis was elated. He could finally move on without worry!

Mhlanga continues to gain notoriety for her baking prowess, and as long as she’s willing to adapt and follow her passions, that success won’t stop anytime soon.

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Getting Back to Summer!

It’s an exciting time at the Sheldon household. School is out, tax season is over, and we have a lot to look forward to! For one, it feels good to have made it through a full school year. Our older kids had only two weeks off. We’re very appreciative to live in an area that managed the pandemic well, which meant we didn’t have to worry too much about the school situation. Now, we get to plan fun things for the summer. I know a lot of families are looking forward to this summer. Last summer was basically a bust, and we had to get creative to figure out how to best use our time. We’ll still have to get creative this year, but in the mix of it all, we’ll be getting back to the neighborhood pool and spending time at the playground. With the kids at home full time, I’ve been brainstorming ways to have fun and keep everyone busy (while preserving some sanity for myself). We might sneak in a few mini trips here and there, and we’ll sign the kids up for summer camp. A few weeklong morning summer camps nearby are perfect for young kids. They’ll get to spend more time outdoors, and they absolutely love every opportunity to get outside.

We may even take a family trip up to New York to see my mom at some point. The kids love it and they get to spend time by a lake (even more time outdoors)! Plus, it’s usually not quite as hot there, especially as we get further into the summer months.

Another big thing coming up is Father’s Day. Toph will be taking his annual golf trip, which is back on for this year. He’s excited and we’re excited for him. He gets to do something he really enjoys, while getting some time just for himself. Most years, the trip happens on or around Father’s Day weekend, but he often gets back home in time for the kids to get “dad time” on the big day.

So, it should be a good summer, if not a busy one, with plenty of fun things to do!

Take a Break

ICED GREEN TEA, 2 WAYS

Nothing says summer like a glass of iced tea. Enjoy these two twists on a classic summer soother.

Ingredients

• •

2 tbsp loose-leaf green tea 4 cups filtered water, divided

Option 2: Ginger Mint •

1 handful fresh mint leaves

•

1 inch fresh ginger, cut into coins

Option 1: Rose and Coriander • 1 tbsp dried rose petals •

1 tbsp whole coriander seeds

Directions

4.

Refrigerate 4–8 hours until tea reaches your desired strength. Strain and serve over ice.

For Rose and Coriander Tea: 1. In a large pitcher, place green tea, rose petals, and coriander seeds. 2. Bring 1/2 cup water to just below boiling. 3. Pour hot water over tea leaves, petals, and seeds. Let steep for 10 seconds, then add the remaining 3 1/2 cups water.

For Ginger Mint Tea: Follow the instructions above, substituting the mint leaves and ginger coins for the rose petals and coriander seeds.

Solution on Page 4

Inspired by 101Cookbooks.com

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Cincinnati Tax Resolution Powered by Toph Sheldon 9200 Montgomery Rd., Ste. 7B Cincinnati, OH 45242

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INSIDE 1

Owning a Business and Having Young Kids — How Do You Manage?

2

How This Entrepreneur Found Success

The Surprising Results of a $110,000 Tax Debt!

3

In the Summertime …

Iced Green Tea, 2 Ways

4

A Former Vice President Gets Hit With Tax Fraud

TOPH’S TAX NIGHTMARES

Spiro Agnew Spirals Out of Control

Spiro Agnew was the 39th vice president of the United States under President Richard Nixon. It was an administration defined by controversy and crime. Agnew served as vice president from 1969–1973 before resigning from office. He has only been the second vice president to resign (the first was John C. Calhoun in 1832, the vice president under Andrew Jackson). While Agnew was tied up with a number of crimes, he was also hit with tax fraud and tax evasion charges. These charges came while he was vice president. During his time in office, he was under investigation for his tax crimes, among many others. In 1973, the charges against him went public and he headed to court. In October 1973, in a federal court in Baltimore, Agnew pleaded no contest to felony tax evasion. The vice president was

fined $10,000 and sentenced to three years unsupervised probation. It was only after the verdict was rendered that Agnew submitted his resignation to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as well as President Nixon. Agnew stated that resigning in the “best interest of the nation” — to which Nixon agreed. The tax fraud charges stemmed from the various bribes he received while serving as the Baltimore County executive, then the governor of Maryland, and then as vice president of the United States. One year — 1967 — he neglected to report and pay taxes, which paved the way to the felony charge. In order to pay his various tax and legal bills, Agnew called a friend for a loan. That friend was Frank Sinatra, who ended up loaning Agnew $200,000. To pay the money back, Agnew intended to get back into the legal field (he was an attorney before becoming a

politician). However, the Maryland Court of Appeals disbarred him, so he pursued other business ventures instead.

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WHEN THE IRS COMES KNOCKIN’ ... LET US ANSWER THE DOOR!