Talk of The Villages Florida - View Single Post - The Villages and the IRS. From Lauren Ritchie
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Old 03-03-2009, 04:55 PM
SteveZ SteveZ is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iaudit View Post
Steve

Your response was way out of line. It is obvious that, in this case, you do not know what you are talking about. Read what Villages07 wrote, these bonds are the ones incurred by the Central District and are being repaid by our amenity fees. They are not the infrastructure bonds we pay with our tax bill on an annual basis.

Ms. Ritchey was pointing out how an adverse IRS ruling will have financial implications on the residents of the villages. This means more money out of our pockets, like raising the on-line golf scheduling, that benefits the developer to our detriment.
As someone who has lived in Central FL for the past 25 years (except for 4 in DC), I'm no fan of the Sentinel. In the Orlando area, it's the only"game in town." I'm glad to be in an area outside its normal distribution.

Whatever the IRS does, that's between the IRS and the account being audited. If IRS rules against an account, then both sides are off to tax court because of the money level involved. When the final answer comes is anyone's guess.

Tax issues come up all the time in businesses, and most large businesses have a cadre of accountants and lawyers on call just for situations like this. The law firm representing Mr. Morse and all is one of the most respected in Central FL and the nation, and not one inexperienced in these matters.

Ms. Ritchie wrote her article in a manner of judge, jury and executioner, and intentionally sculpted it so as to cause fear and make herself (and the Sentinel) as the savior of us all. Shades of Harold Hill and 76 Trombones!

Time - and the legal process - will resolve the matter, and all the flame-fanning of the Sentinel won't change that. Facts, not insinuation, will prevail.

The Sentinel is in the business of selling newspapers, and wants to penetrate this market. Whipping up retirees into a frenzy is one way to try to make it appear as necessary reading, but it is a cheap marketing ploy.

I really don't care whether one auditor within the IRS isn't satisfied. There's a lot of auditors in IRS, and IRS also has a hierarchy to deal with before and if anything ever becomes "final." And then there's tax court and the appellate process.

In other words.....much ado about nothing. But that's my opinion, and it's as valid as any columnist - and I am not being compensated in any manner on the subject or to create the subject into more than it is!

In the end, I'm content to be living here. It's more affordable than anywhere else I"ve found, and I believe I more than get my money's worth.

Last edited by SteveZ; 03-03-2009 at 04:58 PM.