My job is to fight the IRS. All year long, that’s my job. It’s like a little accounting war. I’m the soldier for the little guy.

 

But, although the IRS as an institution is pretty cold and impersonal, many of their foot soldiers are real people. They have friends and families who love them. And they are kind and generous and they actually care about the human beings that call them and try to straighten out their tax problems.

 

To you IRS agents, today is my day of truce. I’ll be back battling you again all too soon. But for today, I’d like to acknowledge the good guys.

 

To Mr. H—who helped straighten out the account of a senior lady with Alzheimer’s and understood that her tax issue really wasn’t her fault. You went above and beyond to help figure out her situation. Your information also helped the doctor understand the problem better as well. You’ll never know how you helped her that way.

 

To Mrs. G—who deals with the really hard luck cases and tries not to cry every night because she sees so much suffering. I’m sorry for sending you more hard luck stories, but I’m glad you’re out there for those people. It helps when there’s someone who actually cares on the other end of the line.

 

To Miss S—who exhausted every possible avenue until she found a way to help a taxpayer who really needed it. It took a long time to work something out, but you didn’t give up. I underestimated you, but you surprised me. Thanks.

 

To the woman whose name I don’t remember but whose laugh I’ll never forget—thank you for recognizing that the IRS really did make a mistake when they sent my client a bill for $2 million dollars! If more agents were like you, there’d be less need for people like me. The first agent my client had called was not nearly as smart, nor friendly, as you.

 

To Mr. D—you said that the IRS had, “Empowered you to help people.” I nicknamed you Captain IRS; you were like a super hero. (You even had the super hero voice!) Not only did you go out of your way to help a woman who was truly indigent, you also pressured me to do the case pro bono as well. I kept up my end of the bargain.

 

To all the phone people who answered questions correctly—please know how much that is appreciated. There’s nothing worse than getting incorrect information from the IRS.

 

To all the people who said, “I don’t know,” when they didn’t know an answer. It’s also much appreciated. “I don’t know,” is always better than wrong information. Thanks.

 

We’ve got a new year ahead of us and I’ll be back in battle mode again soon. Most of my clients think that I’m fighting against the IRS when I try to help them with their tax problems. And sometimes I am. But more often than not, there’s an IRS agent out there battling for them as well. Most people don’t know about the good guys, but they’re out there. Just thought you should know about them.