Check out our March newsletter!
MARCH 2026 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 3
TOPH’S TAX RESOLUTION TIMES
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BEYOND THE FINAL BUZZER More Than Basketball: Lessons in Effort and Grit
Coaching kids’ sports can be an emotional rollercoaster.
Totally confused, I asked, “You want me to have my kids play less hard?” They said I should have forced them to pass the ball five times before taking a shot. One of my assistant coaches joined me and asked the opposing coach to account for his team’s 28-point margin a week earlier in their 33–5 victory over a different team.
When I began coaching my son’s third-grade basketball team, my expectations were modest. As I wrote in this space a few weeks ago, I wanted to teach every player to work hard, invest effort, and have fun learning to play. Since then, these 9-year-olds have shown next- level hustle. We opened the season 6-0. In one recent game, the final score was 50–13. The other team wasn’t bad; our boys just played extremely well. Every player on our team had equal playing time, and the only kid who hadn’t yet made a basket this season sank a 2-pointer! As a coach, that was exciting to see. I was so proud of our kids.
to teach the boys to keep playing hard. With the score at 29–3 at halftime, I encouraged them to pretend it was 0-0 and to play with the same intensity in the second half. I don’t have any regrets about that. The last thing I want to teach these kids is that they can let up just because they’re winning. I was proud to see them execute some tough plays. I’ve taught them that if the ball is on the floor, to dive for it. The other team is probably not going to do that, and the one possession you gain could win the game. When my son complained, “It hurts, diving on the floor, Dad,” I told him to suck it up, because that strategy will strengthen the team. We’ve had our share of losses, too. We had a rough start in a holiday tournament that left us seeded 11th among 12 teams. But our boys fought back, made it all the way to the semifinals, and finished the tournament 8-3. I will continue to encourage these kids, and I hope they can continue to have fun playing hard. If we’re lucky, they’ll emerge as more resilient people as a result.
Their response: “We didn’t score 50.”
“We’re going to have to agree to disagree,” I replied. But the encounter left me rattled. I’m not so bull-headed that I refuse to admit my mistakes, but I walked off the court wondering, Did I miss something here? POSTGAME RECAP In the days that followed, I asked my assistant coaches, Ashley, my parents, and other adults I respect: Did I make a mistake here? The unanimous response: No. They wrote off the ambush as sour grapes, saying our opponents don’t know how to lose. My philosophy is that we should teach kids to play their best all the time. At risk of getting a little too sociological here, I think I got caught in the crossfire between folks who believe in giving all kids participation trophies to shore up their self-esteem, and others who focus on instilling resilience in the face of competition and defeat.
Then came a reaction that caught me totally off guard.
HANDSHAKE HIT We were walking through the handshake line when the opposing coach made a startling comment: “You guys could have handled that a lot differently.” I had no idea what he was talking about. I asked if he was referring to a particular play. “No, the score of the game,” he replied. Another adult from the basketball program joined him and they ambushed me two-on-one, accusing me of poor sportsmanship and “one of the most classless things” they’d ever seen.
–Toph Sheldon
We didn’t deliberately run up the score in that 50–13 game. Instead, I saw it as an opportunity
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Every few years, baseball reminds us it belongs to the world, not just one country. The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is back this March, and the 2026 tournament is shaping up to be the most stacked one yet. Twenty national teams are showing up this year to try to outplay and outlast each other across four tournament locations. The four international host cities are Tokyo, San Juan, Houston, and Miami. Each will have a five-team pool, and every team will play each other once. When the dust settles, the top two teams from each group move on. The knockout round follows, featuring eight teams battling to stay alive. It’s win and move on, or lose and head home until 2029. Everything leads to Miami, where the semifinals and final will be played. Stars Align for This Year’s Classic YOUR 2026 WBC PREVIEW
For some people, filing tax returns is no more than a distant memory. That was the case with a client who came to us recently. Even though this man hadn’t filed a single tax return since 2009, we were able to win him a surprising outcome: A refund on his state and federal taxes! Our client worked for a decade as a self-employed truck driver before hiring on as an employee with a freight company in 2019. Before 2019, he didn’t have any back tax debts or other issues with the IRS. His record was just a blank slate. WHEN OWNING UP TO THE IRS PAYS OFF Toph’s Tax Triumphs
Japan comes into this year’s WBC as the defending champion, and the United States will be looking for payback
But now that his employer was withholding taxes from his paycheck and filing W-2s with the government every year, he knew it was time to get caught up. So, he came to us asking what to do. Our client was worried about getting hit with a mega-bill from the IRS. After working as an independent truck driver between 2010 and 2019, he would have faced his biggest back-tax bills for unpaid income and self-employment taxes during that period.
after losing the 2023 final. The Dominican Republic also has something to prove after its first-round exit in 2023, and the rest of the field is looking very strong. Venezuela, Korea, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Mexico are all capable of making a deep run, and each has enough star power to change a game in a single inning.
A major factor working in his favor, however, is that the IRS typically won’t come after taxpayers for more than six years’ back taxes if the taxpayer doesn’t have other tax issues on their record from previous years. Fortunately, the IRS hadn’t caught on to the fact that our client had self-employment income from 2010–2019. He decided not to open Pandora’s box by filing any returns from that earlier period, but just to come clean for the 2019–2024 tax years and pay whatever he owed. That strategy worked to perfection. Not only did our client get caught up in good standing with the IRS, he also netted a $5,000 refund from the state and federal taxes his employer had withheld from his paycheck since 2019. His refund might have been bigger, but the statute of limitations runs out on refunds after three years from the due date of the tax return.
Those looking for an underdog should keep an eye on the Netherlands. They have a history of playing above expectations, and their roster can cause trouble for any opponent.
The talent level is impressive overall, with a confirmed player list that looks like an All-Star roster. Aaron Judge will captain Team USA for the first time, and Paul Skenes will bring his ace-level pitching skills to the mound for the U.S. Francisco Lindor returns to lead Puerto Rico, Juan Soto is back for the Dominican Republic, and Shohei Ohtani will suit up for Japan. Corbin Carroll, Bo Bichette, Salvador Perez, Bobby Witt Jr., and many others have also signed on for the Classic. The WBC is a celebration of national pride and pure baseball. For a couple of weeks, the entire baseball world has the same focus, and this year’s tournament promises to be a great one.
As tax resolution specialists, it isn’t often that we are able to get a refund for a client. This was not only a unique case, but a cause for celebration all around.
–Toph Sheldon
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ASHLEY’S CORNER GETTING OUR KIDS HOOKED ON BOOKS
One of our kids’ resolutions this year was to read every day. Educators are really pushing reading skills; students are required to read at least 20–30 minutes a day. But getting kids interested in reading amid all their other activities, distractions, and competing media can be tough. Many families default to having their kids read at bedtime. But for me, reading at bedtime is exhausting. Trying to do 20–30 minutes of reading at the end of the day works for a lot of people, but it doesn’t work for me. With March 2 being Read Across America Day, I’m happy to report that after tinkering with our daily routines, finding books the kids like, and giving each one their own little portable, clip-on book light, we’ve managed to make reading at home something the kids enjoy … or at least something they don’t want to avoid!
The kids still read at night, and our new bedtime routine has been working great. We all get ready for bed, and I talk with each of the kids for a few minutes. Then, it’s “lights out.” We gave each of the
kids a cool little book light that hooks onto their books, and they’re obsessed with them. They’re even asking me, “How many minutes can we read?” One of Roz’s goals is to read 20 minutes every day for 365 days in a row. The solution also lies in finding something the kids like to read. Roz, who’s in second grade, loves books from the Rainbow Fairies series, by a group of writers collaborating under the pseudonym Daisy Meadows. The series tells the stories of seven fairies, including Ruby the Red Fairy and Amber the Orange Fairy. Roz is on book six, “Inky the Indigo Fairy,” and she’s reading the books to Tess, who’s in kindergarten. Meanwhile, the boys enjoy chapter books about sports.
Don’t get me wrong: I haven’t reinvented the wheel here. But we’ve made some progress. For one thing, we’ve moved our main 20–30 minutes of reading time from bedtime to the afternoon. After school, I tell them, “Let’s all wind down and give our brains a little break,” and they take turns reading and doing the math games they’re assigned. The solution is finding where in your day reading fits best for you.
Bedtime has been so easy and glorious. I can’t believe what’s happening!
At our house, we’ll be celebrating Read Across America Day big time this year! After years of trying to spark our kids’ interest in reading, I feel like we’re finally heading in the right direction.
Moroccan-Spiced Chicken and Couscous Skillet
Take a Break
Ingredients
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1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
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1 large carrot, sliced into coins
• 2 garlic cloves, minced •
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1 tbsp olive oil
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp ground ginger
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1 cup dry pearl couscous
1/4 cup medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp kosher salt
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1 1/2 cups chicken stock 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 2.
Toss chicken with olive oil, sugar, spices, and salt; let marinate for 10 minutes. 3. Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium. Sear chicken thighs for 3–4 minutes per side, transfer to a plate, leaving 1 tbsp of rendered fat in skillet. 4. Add shallot, carrot, and garlic. Sauté for 2–3 minutes. 5. Add chickpeas, couscous, dates, and chicken stock and boil over high heat. 6. Add chicken thighs back and top with lemon. 7. Put skillet in the oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 8. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Solution on Page 4
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Inspired by WanderingChickpea.com
Published by Newsletter Pro • newsletterpro.com
Cincinnati Tax Resolution Powered by Toph Sheldon 9200 Montgomery Rd., Ste. 7B Cincinnati, OH 45242
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INSIDE
1
The Life Lessons Kids Learn From Playing Hard
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Baseball Pride on the World Stage Toph’s Triumphs: Coming Clean on Past-Due Taxes Yields a Refund! Ashley’s Corner: Strategies for Turning Kids Into Readers Moroccan-Spiced Chicken and Couscous Skillet
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Toph’s Tax Nightmares: An Actor Makes a Taxing Move to France
THE COST OF LIVING ‘LA VIE FRANÇAISE’! TOPH’S TAX NIGHTMARES!
Many people planning a move seek out low-tax havens, including states or foreign islands with no personal income tax. Oscar-winning actor and producer George Clooney has done the opposite. France recently granted citizenship to Clooney and his wife, Amal, with whom he has 8-year-old twins. With dual citizenship in France and the U.S., Clooney may find he is paying far higher taxes.
rate of 55.9%, according to the Tax Foundation. Those rates compare with the U.S.’s highest rate of 37% in 2025.
Clooney, who was born in Kentucky, also is able under French law to retain his U.S. citizenship. If he resides in France for tax purposes, income he earns anywhere in the world will be subject to taxes in both countries. But under a tax treaty between the U.S. and France, he won’t have to pay double taxation. Instead, he will pay taxes at the higher of the two countries’ rates, which is not exactly a great deal.
In discussing the move with a French broadcaster, Clooney cited France’s privacy laws and culture as the main reason for his move.
“Here, they don’t take photos of kids … There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates.
That’s No. 1 for us.” He also describes the family’s farmhouse in Provence as a wonderful place to raise children.
Referring to the actor by the French form of his name, Georges, France’s Foreign Ministry said he was eligible for naturalization as a French citizen based on a French law that allows that privilege for immigrants who contribute to the country’s influence and economy. Based on Clooney’s current tax outlook, his contribution to the economy is likely to be substantial indeed!
France, however, levies some of the highest personal income taxes, with a top marginal rate of 45% plus a 9.5% “social surcharge.” As of 2025, only Denmark imposed a higher marginal
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