By: A.J. Cook


For those who think taxes are dull, here are two mysteries: the case of the suspicious wife and the case of the missing wife.

Alvin Snyder of Baltimore told his wife, Evelyn, in no uncertain terms, his business ventures were none of her business. She knew he practiced law, developed real estate and operated a savings and loan association -- but that's about all.

For the first 28 years of marriage, her lack of knowledge didn't bother her. She signed their tax returns and asked no questions. But she became suspicious when: Her husband pleaded no contest to fraud charges; he was disbarred; his friends in Atlantic City carried guns and had bodyguards. The last straw came when Atlantic City newspapers described the murder of Alvin's attorney as a gambling mafia hit.

Evelyn filed for divorce.

At tax time Alvin filed a joint return without her signature, attaching a note explaining that because of marital difficulties, his wife didn't sign the return.

The Internal Revenue Service found errors in the return and billed Alvin and Mrs. Snyder for additional taxes.

Mrs. Snyder challenged her bill in court, saying she was not liable because she didn't sign the return.

The judge said Mrs. Snyder would owe the tax, with her husband, even though she didn't sign, if facts show she intended a joint return.

The proceedings probably went something like this:

"At times during our marriage, my comments caused Alvin to go into a rage," Mrs. Snyder explained, "When I refused to drop the divorce, he tried to intimidate me. He threatened to leave me penniless. Then late one night he snuck into my home, made a lot of noise, set off the fire and burglar alarms and turned up the furnace. Completely terrified after that, I had friends stay with me at night."

The IRS challenged: "She refused to sign because she was trying to improve her bargaining position in property settlement negotiations, not because she was frightened."

"That's not true. I didn't sign because I didn't know anything about Alvin's business and didn't want to be liable for his taxes."

The judge believed Evelyn. The circumstances showed she did not intend a joint return and it took no Sherlock Holmes to see that.

The Moral: Elementary, my dear taxpayer.

Lawrence E. Gray of East St. Louis, Ill., also appealed an IRS challenge of his joint return. He worked as a fireman water tender on the dredge Genevieve, which operated on the Mississippi and her tributaries. When the IRS said he didn't qualify to file jointly, Gray couldn't produce his wife. But he had produced a son -- with another woman. He said his wife thought this over for five years, then left him.

The IRS said Gray must at least give the agency his wife's Social Security number.

The fireman said he couldn't do that. She didn't have one; He never worked outside her home.

The judge allowed the joint return. He said Gray seemed like an honest man and his testimony was " . . . credible, albeit fascinating."

The Moral: An honest man is as good as a number anytime.


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 3-11-91