Amy Braunschweiger
02/01/2005
There comes a time when even the most eager taxpayer receives that dreaded notice. Barry Hermanson steadfastly believes he should pay taxes, more than the average American’s share, in fact. A long-time member of Responsible Wealth, an organization of affluent citizens that advocates for tax fairness as part of its platform, Hermanson does not even write off his weekly lunches with a friend as a business expense when they discuss work.
“You could go on and on about all of the things that are provided by a society for us, and I think it’s a good thing to be able to contribute to that,” Hermanson says, listing public libraries and schools—although he himself does not have children—as two examples. He keeps straightforward books for his temporary employment service, based in San Francisco. “Not that I want to wave a red flag and say, ‘Come out and audit me,’ but if they did, it’s fine,” he says. Still, when an IRS auditor came calling 20 years ago, he found it a frustrating experience even though it ended well—that is, in his favor. His complaint was that the IRS sent “a young kid who didn’t know what he was doing,” to go through Hermanson’s books.The “kid” wanted Hermanson to change his accounting method from cash to accrual. Hermanson politely informed him that he wished to speak with his superior on the phone. After less than a day of auditing, the supervisor deemed the change unnecessary. Had the decision gone the other way, Hermanson would not have owed money, but he would have had to rework five or six years of tax filings.
Illustration by Ken Orvidas.
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