D. Stussy wrote:
- quote -

Ah yes, old terminology. And his name isn't Les anymore
either. But from what I hear the new chief is taking new
interest in reining in the bad guys, CPA's and attorneys
included.

Christmas Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

We don't have a DOP[e] anymore - but OPR now. However,
regardless of which oversight body is responsible, the
preparer is doing something that he shouldn't.

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D. Stussy wrote:
- quote -

Assuming of course that the accountant is indeed a public
accountant, either a CPA or a PA. he could of course be a
private accountant; or an EA (grin)

In any case, there's an issue here for the DOP to get
involved in.

Christmas Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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JSmith9543 wrote:

- quote -

Then the accountant needs to be told that there are accounts
that have personal living expenses and other such
non-deductibles in the books.

As for why the accountant never asked (even if to confirm)
whether the accounts were strictly business expenses or not,
that's an issue for his state's licensing board.

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Oh yes, I've viewed all his tax returns for the last couple
of years. All the deductions I've mentioned are in there on
his business return. The accountant has no clue that they
are not business related, but the accountant does include a
statement on their monthly reports that the info is provided
just as it's given to them without any audit or in depth
review. Not sure how boss gets away with this, but he's been
doing it for years.

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JSmith9543 wrote:

- quote -

There is no law that forbids the accounting of personal
expenses which are not deductible for tax purposes. In
fact, for some, where the IRS has raised and computed an
"assumed income," such accounting of the non-deductibles can
be used as evidence before the U.S. Tax Court to refute the
IRS's claim of unreported income (the difference between the
assumed amount and amount reported), especially where the
IRS uses a "living expense method" to compute income.

As for actually deducting these items, you didn't say that
you were in any way responsible for the TAX RETURN (and
implied that you are not, asking only about the accounting
of the expenses and nothing more), so if these are deducted
when they should not be, it's not your problem. As some
others have said [before I had a chance to reply], if you
are responsible for the tax return, then you may have a
problem - for this situation certainly pushes the limits if
not crosses them.

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Phil Marti <philmarti[at]aol.com> wrote:

[OP works for a wholesale grocer who tries to treat his
personal meals, groceries, etc. as "business expenses"]

- quote -

In the general case I would agree with Phil. But you should
at least consider the possibility that the boss is a
(small-l) libertarian. Libertarians consider taxation to be
theft.

For a libertarian, "cheating" on taxes is akin to hiding
most of your money in a shoe so if you are held up you will
only lose the small amount you keep in your pockets. Or to
finding some weird place to conceal your valuables so
burglars won't find them.

Such a person might be completely honest in his dealings
with people, only "cheating" the government.

For some reason I'm reminded of the Science Fiction story "A
Ticket to Tranai" by Robert Sheckley. On Tranai, you could
distinguish the tax collectors from ordinary hold-up artists
because the tax collectors wore white masks.

--
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States
of America, and to the republic which it established, one
nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for
all.

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- quote -

While I agree with all the comments of my colleagues, I
don't see above that you have actually seen the tax returns.
It is possible he may be having you give the info to his
accountant with said instructions, yet the return may
actually be correctly prepared because the accountant left
off the incorrect items.

Regardless of the above, I would seriously consider looking
for another job...while you can get a good job reference:<)

Mike

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jsmith9543[at]aol.com (JSmith9543) wrote:

- quote -

Only business expenses are legitimate business deductions.
Personal meals and groceries would not qualify. You would
only be liable if you are in some way involved in this
activity. Merely being an employee would not be a problem.

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"JSmith9543" <jsmith9543[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

No, it's not right. I don't know what, if any, liability
you might have, but if I were the accountant I'd sure feel
obligated to ask some penetrating questions. And, absent
some pretty convincing answers, I'd drop him like the
proverbial hot potato.

Don Rosenberg, E.A.

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jsmith9543[at]aol.com says...

- quote -

Do you sign checks or any tax filings? The most dangerous
thing would be if you have anything to do with either
payroll taxes or sales taxes.

That said, your boss is sleazy if he is really deducting the
things you say. It's possible that the accountant is
separating the personal expenses from business ones at his
end. When I worked with clientele such as small business
owners, lawyers, & doctors we saw this a lot. We would shift
the personal expenses to a different account and correct the
client's behavior that way. With an S-Corp., we would have
personal expenses count as a dividend.

Just to cover yourself, you might want to start looking for
another job.

Gary

--
You can probably X figure out X which letters to X delete to
derive my email address X.

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"JSmith9543" <jsmith9543[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

Why don't you voice your concern about this situation to the
accountant to which you give this information and see what
he/she says about it?

Wayne Brasch, CPA, M. S. Taxation

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JSmith9543 wrote:

- quote -

WOW, what a question!

I grew up in the wholesale grocery business and what an
education that was. (I still have my father's wholesale
price list dated March 1, 1936 which is displayed at my
office along with a 1913 Smith Corona typewriter, the 1945
adding machine I did my first trial balance on, and the 1947
Southwestern bookkeeping textbook used in high school.)

Back then we had no mortgage on the house, and the only
groceries took home were tin cans which would have been
thrown out anyway. Oh, and samples left by salesmen. Of
course all means were taken at home, within walking
distance. Auto expense I'm not too sure of, probably just
gasoline expense (gas was about 27cents a gallon.)

But I digress. What he's doing as you know is morally and
ethically wrong. However, as most Germans said in 1945: "I
was just following orders." and as such you have broken no
laws that I know of, anyway.

And if you raise the issue, even in a roundabout way with
the accountant, you might even risk your job.

Most of us who answer on here will agree however with this
question: "If he cheats the government, who else will he
cheat?"

Cheer$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

===================================
Moderator: Yes, Harlan is that old.
===================================

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jsmith9543[at]aol.com (JSmith9543) writes:

- quote -

For a definite answer about that, see a lawyer. The bigger
question is why do you want to work for a crook? If he'll
cheat the government, why wouldn't he cheat you? Find
another job.

Phil Marti
Topeka, KS

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"JSmith9543" <jsmith9543[at]aol.com> wrote

- quote -

I would like to think that the accountant isn't being
fleeced by this. But one never knows for sure.

In any event, it's not a problem for you, until he gets
caught and claims that it was a "bookkeeping" or "clerical"
error. In which case it's still not your fault, but he's
claiming it is.

I would suggest looking for another employer............soon.

--
Paul A. Thomas, CPA
Athens, Georgia
taxman at negia.net

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- quote -

You are correct, this stinks to high heaven. As long as you
are not signing the return you should have no problems.

Helen, EA in PA
Member of The Tax Gang
President, PA Society of Enrolled Agents
Campaigning for NAEA Board of Directors - Looking for YOUR vote

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I work for a wholesale grocer (buys/sells over
phone/internet). He is deducting ALL of his meals (eats out
every day), ALL of his personal groceries, even his car and
his mortgage payment (works out of his home) - ALL as
business expenses - considers meals as meals and
entertainment, and groceries as research. I am his personal
assistant and has me submit his credit card receipts in this
way to the accountant each month. I don't think it's right?
BTW- he files as an 'S' corporation if that matters. Can I
be held liable in any way for this accounting?

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