Lori Singleton-Clarke, a Maryland nurse, took on IRS lawyers and won. What she won was the right to deduct nearly $15,000 tuition for her own MBA and for other professionals to do the same for their business degrees.
As Laura Saunders reports in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Singleton-Clarke "defended herself against the agency's [IRS] lawyers and won." The implications could be profound. We Everyman and Everywoman professionals might become bolder with our tax deductions and stay bold when the IRS contacts us with questions or challenges. Like, who's afraid of the IRS? In addition, tax lawyers might start fearing that their special area of expertise isn't so special any more. Could most of us, if we did our research, do their jobs?
I've challenged traffic tickets on my own and won too. Granted, it's not in the same league as beating the IRS (something we'd all like to do!), but I'm sure that the underlying principles are the same. All one needs is a good, working knowledge of the English language, and the willingness to read & study the statutory language very carefully. Do those two things, and there's a good chance one can find a loophole to exploit.
The challenge arises when it comes to deciding whether or not to go pro se; there are times when we'd all be better served by having a lawyer go to bat for us. That said, depending on how that question is answered, there are huge implications for the legal profession...
Posted by: MarkyMark | January 09, 2010 at 09:04 AM