Taxpayers Get E-Z Answers Irs Agents Solve Mysteries In No Time On Problem Solving Day

Dick Roose emerged beaming from the Internal Revenue Service office on the fourth floor of the U.S. Court House.

A non-filer for 13 years, the Spokane resident was heartened by news the statute of limitations has expired on some of his violations.

Although he was awaiting additional information from the IRS center in Ogden, Utah, Roose said his tax problems are looking far less terrifying than he had expected.

“I would not have been surprised if they had said, ‘Dick, we’ve got to arrest you,”’ he said, adding that the taxes had been withheld through the years he had not filed returns.

Roose was one of several dozen area taxpayers who trooped into the federal building on Wednesday for IRS Problem Solving Day.

Created in response to congressional inquiries into IRS abuses, the problem-solving days are an extension of services the IRS has provided by telephone and mail, but not always successfully, said district director Paul Beene.

Sometimes, the taxpayer was not communicating well with the IRS, he said. Sometimes, the IRS was not communicating well internally.

Beene said problem-solving days bring together tax collectors, examiners and other specialists who can focus on sorting out even the most complex cases on the spot.

So far, he said, between 50 percent and 70 percent of the problems submitted have been settled before the taxpayer leaves the office.

If the issues are particularly complicated or all the paperwork isn’t available, “we take those cases and give them special handling,” Beene said.

All will be resolved, he said.

There was no shortage of help.

The IRS brought in 10 Seattle employees to supplement the 50 in the Spokane office, said group manager Mark McCollum, and all daily assignments were canceled.

“We aren’t doing anything but this today,” he said in the noisy courthouse lobby, where IRS agents in dresses or white shirts and ties were escorting blue-jeaned taxpayers to the elevators.

Upstairs, counselors worked through problems in minutes that taxpayers said months or years of phoning and writing had not cracked.

Billie Schlinke had ended up with two W-2 forms - and two tax bills - when her husband died. A move to Spokane from Texas had made explaining the duplication difficult, she said.

After two years of haggling, Schlinke said, the misunderstanding disappeared in less than an hour Wednesday.

“It kind of restores my faith,” she said.

A minor foul-up by her accountant had ensnared business owner Patty Johnson, who was penalized because some paperwork had not been filed in Washington.

The accountant tried for 10 months to fix the problem, said Johnson, who walked out the door Wednesday with the promise of a check.

“I am a very happy woman,” she said.

Christian Doering’s dilemma - a broken marriage - is one the IRS sees often, according to Beene.

Deserted spouses frequently are unaware of their tax obligations and don’t have resources to pay them off, Beene said.

Doering said unexpected government liens were draining his limited assets. A poor education makes it difficult for him to understand the tax laws, he added.

“I can move on now,” Doering said after a prolonged counseling session. “I got what I came after.”

Roose said he decided to face up to his tax responsibilities as part of the process of putting his alcoholism behind him.

After years of uncertainty, Wednesday’s experience was a vast relief.

“It’s unreal,” he said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: NEED HELP? Paul Beene said other problem-solving days may be held, but in the meantime, assistance is available on the IRS toll-free line at 1-800-829-1040. “We’re trying to make every day a problem-solving day.”