Confessions of a Tax Collector by Richard Yancey

Author:Richard Yancey [Yancey, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, General
ISBN: 9780060555610
Google: JzTVlgEACAAJ
Amazon: 0060555610
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2004-12-27T16:00:00+00:00

PART TWO

The Revenue Officer

Men should be either caressed or exterminated, because they can avenge light injuries, but not severe ones. The damage done to a man should be such that there is no fear of revenge.

— Machiavelli

CHAPTER 9

LEVERAGE

The call came two weeks after my initial receipt of the case of Paul Goodings d/b/a[30] Goodings Heating & Air. As with all new cases, I had immediately sent the final notice, giving the taxpayer thirty days to pay the amount in full or suffer the consequences. Usually, this notice was ignored: the type of debtor we dealt with did not respond to written notices from the Service. If they did, they would not be our type of debtor.

She sounded out of breath, as if she had sprinted to the phone from the mailbox. Her name was Alicia, and she was Paul Goodings’s wife.

“I handle all the books,” she explained.

“Are you on the payroll?”

“I don’t take a salary or anything, if that’s what you mean. But I handle all of Paul’s billing and payables. He’s just too busy, and frankly he doesn’t have the head for it.”

Neither do you, apparently. I had become accustomed to this little interior voice, an echo of Culpepper’s, the bitterly satisfying mockery, the inevitable cruelty borne in the heart of the player who always holds a royal flush. I hardly noticed it anymore.

I explained to Mrs. Goodings that the tax was assessed against the business and her husband, not against her. Under the law, I could not discuss anything with her.

“But, Mr. Yancey, I just told you, Paul doesn’t understand any of this. He won’t be able to answer any of your questions.”

“Is there a separate bank account for the business?”

“Oh yes. We keep everything separate, business and personal.”

“Do you sign checks on the business account?”

“No. Our personal stuff is joint, but Paul signs all the business checks… but I write them all. I write out all the bills when they come in and he just signs the check. I handle all the money, Mr. Yancey, so Paul won’t even know what you’re talking about.”

I believed her. She had yet to catch her breath and spoke barely above a whisper. I believed her—and understood perfectly.

I said, “Where is the bank account?”

She told me.

“And is there enough in there to write me a check?”

“No. No, see, that’s why I was calling. We’re going to need a little time—more than the thirty days. Actually, I was calling to see if there was anything we could do to arrange a payment plan.”

“Mrs. Goodings, I can’t discuss anything like that with you, unless Mr. Goodings is present or designates you as his power-of-attorney. Is Mr. Goodings there right now?”

“No. No, he’s on a job. It’s really all he can do to keep the jobs coming in. Honestly, Mr. Yancey, just tell me what you need from us and I’ll get it to you.”

“What I need right now, if you can’t send me the check, is to talk to Mr. Goodings.”

“I just told you he can’t talk right now!” she said sharply.

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