I was flipping through my mail this afternoon. There was a few postcard type ads, a letter from my bank trying to sell me a low rate mortgage loan, a letter for renewal of my membership to the Author’s Guild and another envelope that made my stomach do flips.
It was addressed to “Ms. Lisa Sabin-Wilson” (a name I just recently started using since I got married in June of ‘06). It had a stamp on the outside that said “Official Documents. Confidential. Open Immediately.”
Now, that in itself wouldn’t have gotten my attention. It was the return address:
Office of Control and Audit
blah blah blah street
Washington D.C.
Let me make this clear - - I pay my taxes like a good, law abiding citizen. I have an accountant who keeps me on the straight and narrow - - I hired him when I became self-employed because math makes me dizzy. He is about as obsessive compulsive as any bean counter out there … but my immediate thought when I saw the return address was “Oh man, I’m getting audited by the IRS”
I’ve been filing taxes for E.Webscapes since 1999, as a business. The first year or two didn’t really show much profit, but since then - it has grown steadily each year. Two years ago, I created and LLC for it and also added Blogs About Hosting in 2003. I’m a total dork when it comes to knowing whats what when it comes to taxes. I understand the basics.. income..expenses…. The line pretty much stops there. My accountant is creative - - creative and above board. So, how could this happen to me?
Do people who get audited take it personally? I hadn’t even opened the envelope - and I was taking it personally. I immediately began thinking of the nightmare this would be - - how I don’t have time to stop everything in my life to deal with an IRS audit.
I opened the envelope with much trepidation - wondering if I shouldn’t be opening a bottle of scotch at the same time.
Inside was a plea from the Republican National Committee for a donation of $250 or more.
Now, I ask - how is a person supposed to physically be able to dig out a checkbook to write a donation check when they are in the midst of having a heart attack after thinking that return address meant what it said?
Control and Audit
Well? What would YOU think? Was this a blonde moment? Should I have known better? I’m not a reactionary person by nature, and I’m not paranoid….it was just my immediate thought.
I did rip up the donation letter. I put the ripped pieces in the return envelope and will mail it back to them in the morning. Donating to the RNC isn’t high on my list of things I really want to do right now. I used to - until … well, let’s not get into politics, shall we? I swore off poliblogging a few years ago.
It should be a damn law to have “Republican National Committee” as the damn return address on such things. I mean, what if I had a weak heart??
11:46 pm on January 24th, 2008
Stuff like what you’re thinking comes from the Internet Revenue Service. Not an audit and control committee. Not that I would know from experience or anything. My ex might, however.
Sorry you had a momentary heart attack. I’ve had those before. If you ever want an interesting story about the IRS, just e-mail me privately and I’ll share.
1:57 pm on January 25th, 2008
Ewww . . . scary! Sorry about your mini heart attack!!!!
(» Read Lindsey’s last blog post..Holidays, Hospitals, and Higher Learning)
4:51 pm on January 25th, 2008
@Jammie - yes, I know - it was a total blonde moment. I should have known that it would say something about the “Internal Revenue Service”, etc… it may have saved me a few gray hairs, maybe. Stories about the IRS scare me - - I’d like nothing more than to stay off their radar. I’m waiting for the “Ms. Sabin? We read your blog and think you are a good candidate for an audit this year” letter. haha.. paranoid much?
4:51 pm on January 25th, 2008
@Lindsey.. aww thanks! It was just a slight one - no permanent or lasting damage lol
2:01 am on January 26th, 2008
lol overemotional if you had a miniheart attack.
But as long as the topic is politics as for the IRS… Ron Paul will get rid of it without replacing it with anything
11:50 am on January 26th, 2008
I used to be a big GOP grassroots organizer, until the Hastert Congress and the Bush Administration went so far off course. I became a registered Independent about a year or so ago, partially because I felt like the GOP wasn’t listening to me anymore.
I dutifully filled out their surveys and sent in my contributions, until I realized those surveys were clearly skewed not to gauge my opinions on a subject, but to rile me up and send in a contribution.
Anyway, I got one of those surveys for the first time in months yesterday, (I suppose they’d noticed I’d stopped responding for a while) and I immediately chunked it in the trash. They won’t read anything I have to say! They’ll just deposit my check and go about their business.
Anyway, I just thought I’d share that little tidbit of my mail dealing with the RNC myself.
1:45 pm on January 26th, 2008
Hey Lisa,
Yeah, they put that kind of crap on the return address for that very reason… they want you to open it immediately thinking that it’s something important… *&^%# junk mail!
Jim C
(» Read Jim C’s last blog post..Mcamnesty’s National Hispanic Outreach Director)
9:50 am on January 27th, 2008
Ugh, I hear you on envelopes designed to get you to open them thinking they are something else. Currently I am getting student loan consolidation letters from a company that designs them to look like government refund checks. So not cool! I think what the RNC did to you is fraud, but would you expect anything less from anyone in our current government system? I don’t think these guys on either side of the aisle could be truthful if their lives depended on it.
1:19 am on June 4th, 2008
Excellent post Yes this politicians are truly stupid!!!