Cincinnati Tax Resolution - May 2022

Cincinnati Tax Resolution - May 2022

MAY 2022 VOLUME 6, ISSUE 5

TOPH’S TAX RESOLUTION T IMES

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Remembering Bourbon – The (Almost) Invincible Dog

The last few months have been tough for Ashley and I, because back in March, we lost our almost 10-year-old dog, Bourbon, to chronic anemia. It still hasn’t really sunk in. Every time I walk in the door, I expect him to be there waiting and wagging his tail. Bourbon was a really friendly dog, and he also had a bit of anxiety, so he liked to be around people. When I was home, he would follow me from room to room and jump in my lap when he wasn’t feeling well. When we lost Bourbon, we lost a real companion. Ashley and I got Bourbon almost 10 years ago, when he was just a puppy. We weren’t even engaged yet at the time. We already had one puppy — Roulette, our heeler/cattle dog mix — but I grew up with a golden retriever named Charlie, so I really wanted another golden. I went back to the animal shelter on my own, and when I walked in, they had a litter of golden retriever/Labrador mixes up for adoption. You know how it is with puppies: I took one look at Bourbon and said, “I’m taking you home.” From that moment on, he was part of the family. I almost can’t believe Bourbon is gone because he always seemed so invincible. From the time he was a puppy, he had chronic health issues, including seizures, that required him to be on a lot of different medications. I can’t count the number of times we had to rush him to the animal hospital over the years, but he always came home wagging his tail and hoping for a bone. Last summer, I thought we had lost Bourbon for sure when he went over the edge of a waterfall — yes, a waterfall — on a hiking trip. My dad, Mac, Rex, and I were staying in a cabin for the weekend and decided to

take an off-leash hike with the dogs. As we got close to the falls, Bourbon, Roulette, and the boys ran ahead of me. I yelled at the kids to get back from the edge and they listened … but Bourbon didn’t. The next thing I saw was his furry yellow back in the river, sliding with the current toward the edge. I felt like I was watching it happen in slow motion. I couldn’t make it to him before he disappeared over the side. The boys were in tears, and even I thought it was the end of our pet. Fortunately, when we got to the edge, we could see that the 15-foot falls fed into a pool below us. Amazingly, a few minutes later, Bourbon picked himself up out of the water and came running back up the trail! He was scared but totally unhurt. Bourbon was with us through all of our different houses, apartments, and condos. He watched us get engaged and married, and he was part of all five of our kids’ lives from birth. I can’t count the number of photos we have of him, the discarded bread crusts he’s eaten from the kids’ plates, or the things he’s stolen off the counter when we weren’t looking. I’m glad we have so many memories, because there is definitely a Bourbon-size hole our hearts. Just the other day, Ashley told me she still expects to trip over him every time she gets out of bed at night. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

If you have a pet, give them an extra hug this month for me and Bourbon, the (Almost) Invincible Dog.

–Toph Sheldon

DON’T LIVE IN FEAR - TOPH IS HERE!

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We’re Listening — Are You? 5 PODCASTS TO BOOST YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

All of these podcasts are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and a variety of other platforms. ‘How I Built This’ — Have you ever wondered what it was like behind the

$190,000 IN BACK TAX DEBT? No Thanks, We’ll Pay $650

scenes in the early days of Coinbase? What about Expedia, Mailchimp, or Ben & Jerry’s? The “How I Built This” podcast from NPR dives into all of those stories and

more during fascinating interviews with founders and CEOs. Find out what hurdles they faced, how they overcame them, and what lessons you can steal to level up your own business. ‘Entrepreneurs on Fire’ — This award-winning podcast is hosted by author and thought leader John Lee Dumas. On it, he interviews entrepreneurs like Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, and Tim Ferriss and extracts business tips for you. Tune in for episodes like “How to Raise $400 million on the Internet and Build a FinTech Business with Jilliene Helman” and “Earn More with LinkedIn Sales Navigator with Julbert Abraham.” ‘Business Made Simple’ — If you’re a fan of “Building a Story Brand” by Donald Miller, then “Business Made Simple” is for you! On this podcast, Miller hosts and offers strategies for building and optimizing your business. He covers topics ranging from “How to Escape a Villain Mindset” to “Is Word- of-Mouth Marketing Dead?” ‘BizChix’ — “BizChix” is catered specifically to women entrepreneurs and hosted by business coach and strategist Natalie Eckdahl. The episodes mix business and advice and training with on-air coaching calls and interviews. If you’re looking for specific tips like how to pivot your client base or get in the hiring mindset, this podcast will be a perfect fit for you. ‘Wisdom From the Top ’ — Hosted by Guy Raz of “How I Built This,” this podcast expands beyond business leaders to glean leadership tips from all fields, including army generals, scientists, and reporters as well as CEOs. As the podcast’s description puts it, “You’ll hear accounts of crisis, failure, turnaround, and triumph, as the leaders reveal their secrets on their way to the top. These are stories that didn’t make it into their company bios, with valuable lessons for anyone trying to make it in business.”

The IRS is moving at a snail’s pace right now, but for our clients, the results are worth the wait. Just this spring, I saw patience pay off for one of them — a landscape company owner with $190,000 of IRS debt. When he came to us for help, this client hadn’t filed a tax return in eight years. About half of what he owed was the actual back tax, 25% of it was penalties, and the last 25% was interest. The IRS hadn’t come after him yet, but he was smart enough to know it was only a matter of time before they knocked on his door. He wanted to get ahead of the problem — so he hired us in 2020 to negotiate on his behalf. The first thing we did was file all of his missed tax returns and set up estimated payments. This brought him up to date with the IRS, showed he was ready to cooperate, and gave him the best possible shot at moving forward with a settlement. I submitted our first offer in early 2021: A very lowball number of $650. For almost a year, the IRS was radio silent. I followed up with them repeatedly but couldn’t get an answer on our client’s offer. That’s how backlogged their cases are! Finally, in December, I made contact. The IRS claimed our client wasn’t paying enough in estimated tax to stay current. Since I’d worked with him on that tax plan myself, I doubled down and asked to speak with a manager. After that, we were back to radio silence, until …

This March, I got a text from our client. “Great job!” it said. “Thank you so much! We just got the letter that our offer was accepted!”

Threatening to escalate the offer must have hit a nerve. The IRS caved and accepted just $650 to settle my client’s $190,000 debt! He was thrilled, and so was I. It’s gratifying to know that even if the IRS’s negotiation process is slow right now, as long as you have a good representative, patience and persistence still pay off.

–Toph Sheldon

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ASHLEY’S CORNER Has It Really Been 2 Years?!

While I was watching the kids run around the house today, I had a realization: I haven’t practiced as a nurse for more than two years. That’s totally crazy to me! When the pandemic started and I decided to

day and wake up with a “mom gene” that activates the next day.) I also have days when I feel like a rock star mom and have everything under control, but I have fewer of those days now than I did as a nurse. Staying home also has so many benefits. Our household runs more smoothly now that I can shuttle the kids to and from their preschool, sports, play dates, and dance classes. I’m spending valuable time with them, too, and push myself to come up with different creative games to keep them learning and growing. Mother’s Day is this month and I really have to give it up to all of the moms out there. It’s so hard to be a working mom. Being a stay-at- home mom (or as Toph calls it, a full-time mom and a full-time business consultant) is a different kind of hard, but it’s just as all-consuming. Take it from someone who knows both sides: If you’re a mom reading this, YOU are a rock star, regardless of whether you bring home a paycheck or not!

stay home, Tess was the baby of the

family. Now she’s 2, and we have a brand-new baby. Wild.

In a lot of ways, I feel like a totally different person today than I was two years ago. The old Ashley was a nurse working three 12-hour shifts a week. She only had three kids and was always rushing to get them to and from day care. I can hardly remember what that felt like, even though nursing was a huge part of my life. I was a nurse for 15 years — way longer than I’ve been a mom — but I’ve completely reinvented myself now. When I sat down to think about it, I realized I miss that feeling of gratification I used to get from helping people as a nurse. It was also nice to do a job I knew I was good at. In my new “job,” there are days when I feel totally lost and like a failure. (You don’t just have a kid one

Take a Break

ONE-PAN BAKED SALMON AND VEGGIES

Ingredients

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1 lb spring potatoes, halved

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2 handfuls cherry tomatoes

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2 tbsp olive oil (divided)

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1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

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8 asparagus spears, trimmed and halved

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2 5-oz salmon fillets

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1 handful fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 2. In an oven-proof dish, combine the potatoes and 1 tbsp olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes. 3. Remove the dish from the oven and add the asparagus. Toss, and bake for 15 more minutes. 4. Remove the dish from the oven and add the cherry tomatoes. Toss. Drizzle with balsamic, then nestle the salmon fillets into the vegetables. Drizzle with the remaining oil, and bake for 10–15 minutes. 5. Remove the dish from the oven, garnish with basil leaves, and serve!

Solution on Page 4

Inspired by BBCGoodFood.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

Toph Says Goodbye to a Friend

2

5 Business Podcasts to Boost Growth

Toph Gets an Entrepreneur Out of Debt

3

Ashley’s Corner: Pandemic Reflections

One-Pan Baked Salmon and Veggies

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Ja Rule Isn’t ‘Always on Time’ With Taxes

RAPPER JA RULE IS WRAPPED UP …

In IRS Red Tape

The agency discovered he had failed to pay $1 million in taxes and penalties. That accusation turned into a tax evasion charge and landed him two more years of jail time in 2011, which he served concurrently according to Radar Online. Ja Rule stayed behind bars until 2013, then finished his sentence on house arrest. But that was just the beginning of his tax trouble! In 2021, the IRS went after Ja Rule again — this time asking a federal government attorney to sue him and his wife, Aisha Atkins, for failing to pay over $3 million in federal taxes. Radar Online reports the couple racked up that tax bill over 10 years: 2005–2010, and 2012–2017. Rapper 50 Cent, a “longtime foe” of Ja Rule’s according to Complex, thought it was pretty funny that the rapper hadn’t learned from his IRS experience back in 2011. 50 Cent shared the story on Instagram and captioned it with laughing emojis and the sage advice: “You gotta pay your taxes fool.” It looks like Ja Rule and Aisha Atkins will be able to avoid jail time for this latest tax debacle. Last May, they reportedly signed a deal with the IRS to pay off their $3 million debt with a single check. Whew!

Rap fans will remember 2007 as a dark year for the genre. That summer, both Ja Rule and Lil’ Wayne were arrested back-to-back on separate weapons charges after a concert at Beacon Theater. In hindsight, it’s pretty funny that the pair had released a song called “Uh Oh” together that same year! For Ja Rule, the 2007 arrest was just the first domino in a chain of events that ended at the IRS. The rapper pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in 2010 and wound up with two years of jail time. Then, the IRS kicked him while he was down.

Hopefully, this time the pair has learned a lesson: Millions in the bank might save you from prison, but it won’t keep you out of the IRS crosshairs.

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DON’T LIVE IN FEAR - TOPH IS HERE!