By: A.J. Cook


Benjamin J. Harrison of Milpitas, Calif., lived through three horrible years made even tougher by the Internal Revenue Service.

First, Harrison's business partner left him holding the bag on rental property that suffered large losses. The bank eventually foreclosed on the property.

Next, his sister developed cancer, and he assumed some of her family's financial responsibilities.

Finally, his older brother was murdered, leaving Harrison to pay for the funeral and the cost of getting the body to Michigan for burial.

Because of the stress, Harrison had not filed his income tax returns. So 15 months after his trauma finally ended, he took his tax data to Triple Check Income Tax Service to prepare returns for the three years.

But before it completed the returns, the government subpoenaed the records from Triple Check and criminally charged Harrison for failing to file the returns. Under an agreement, he pleaded guilty on one and was sentenced to three years' probation.

But the government wasn't finished.  Usually, after the IRS is successful in a criminal tax case, which can result in jail time and fines, it goes after the taxpayer for non-criminal cash penalties, as it did in this case.

Harrison decided enough was enough.  He felt he had a solid foundation for leniency and appealed.

The court tempered justice with mercy and rejected the IRS proposed penalties. It was reasonable to file late, under his extreme emotional and financial stress.


A.J. Cook is a lawyer and CPA. His tax column appears weekly in numerous newspapers. Why isn't it published in your hometown newspaper? Ask its Business Editor to subscribe.

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Released 9-11-00