Ah, Yes, The Past

The days have hit a very nice rhythm and are passing very quickly. Since I have come in camp, my days are stress free and I have little to report. Just when I thought things were going fine, a rather large envelope came in the mail today from the Internal Revenue Service. Back in February, I met with an agent while I was in Jamestown. This meeting was unusual because we never discussed dollar amounts as to the taxes I owed. I thought this meeting went well and it was the last time I heard from the IRS – until the envelope came in the mail. Ah, yes, the past keeps sneaking up on me and I know I cannot change this but apparently the IRS can! Since I never claimed the embezzled money on my tax returns, I owe them unpaid taxes.

Inside the envelope were very impressive calculations of the taxes I now owe. During the meeting in February, we only spoke about the tax year 2004; however, in the envelope were recalculations for 2003 and 2004 during the embezzlement period. I quickly glanced at the summary sheet and saw the tax amount I owed for both years. Yes, it is quite significant but not unexpected. As I read further through the report, I noticed interest and penalties were tacked on to the unpaid tax amount. These interest and penalties were more than the unpaid taxes. In fact, the amount I now owe the IRS is over half of what was stolen. CRIME CERTAINLY DOES NOT PAY! According to the letter attached to the documents, I have 10 days to refile the claim and if I agree I must pay in full by the next 30 days or the interest will continue to accumulate. I really cannot refute the charges but I do have a question about the money I have already repaid because I believe this should be a deduction to the taxes owed. I did not see any allowance for this amount. Also, and more importantly, I have no way to pay this debt currently and I fear the interest accumulation alone will preclude me from paying this debt ever.

I continue to advance in my recovery and advance in living a peaceful serene life; however, as soon as I saw the envelope with the marking IRS, my heart dropped. I do my best to let go of the past and live positively for today; however the past keeps popping up on me. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change the events of my past and I am now suffering the consequences. I cannot dwell on this large bill, but on the same token, I am having difficulty of letting go. I need to work through this with my dear friends from GA who will be here on Sunday. I have no desire to gamble but those events of the past do haunt me on days like today. THE POWER OF INTENTION was tested today and I do know I am on the right path.

I have many questions regarding what I received today and I do plan on doing what I can from in here. The ironic part about this is my roommate has the same dilemma. He, too, has more questions than answers so we are both in the same predicament. He also owes a significant amount to the IRS so we can commiserate together. I took a few steps back as I read through the forms, but I will be back to my usual self shortly.

The joke goes, “So, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the rest of the day?” What is going to happen is going to happen. I did spend most of the rest of the day crunching numbers – no, not the IRS, but the numbers I received on the calculation of my new release date. The worksheet for the calculation is not exactly easy, but I did follow the methodology. I discovered what I thought was an error. I went over this 5 different times and came up with the same number. If I am correct, my release date should be February 24th which is a savings of 7 days. I need to write to the person who made the calculation so an adjustment can be made. With dates of 2009 and 2010, I realize how grateful I am to be getting out in 5 ½ months. Anyhow I did what I thought was correct; now I will wait for a response.