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The Luck of the Irish:
DEBUNKING SHEER LUCK
Watch for green shamrocks, leprechauns, corned beef, cabbage, and bagpipes — because St. Patrick’s Day is here! It’s time to celebrate the luck of the Irish, which originated during the gold rush in the 19th century when many of the most successful miners were Irish. Today, many still believe in the luck of the Irish or luck in general. But here’s why I don’t.
more than the majority of the world. These athletes often wake up at 4 or 5 a.m. to hit the ground running. This same mindset has propelled me through life. I’ve always believed that while others work an 8–10-hour day, if I can work 16–18 hours in one day, every day, then I can reach a goal faster than others and obtain more than those who only do what is required of them. If I go above and beyond, more doors will open for me, and instead of just waiting to get lucky, I will play a more impactful role in my success. Luck is merely hoping something will go your way, but hard work more reliably ensures a positive outcome. So, instead of believing in the luck of the Irish, I believe good things come to those who put in the work to emphasize their skill and talent. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Luck is only a wish, but when you combine a goal with a plan and work diligently, your success is guaranteed, and you appreciate it much more. For example, think about your first car. If you worked hard to save up and purchased it on your own, you babied that vehicle — you kept it clean, parked it away from other vehicles in the parking lot, and drove it with extreme care and pride. However, if your first car was given to you, while you may still have taken great care of it, it likely didn’t mean quite as much to you. If you reach success because you hoped and got lucky, you probably aren’t going to honor and cherish your achievements as much as you would have if you worked hard and put in the effort! It’s about grit, dedication, determination, and genuine hard work! -Ben Golden
“LUCK IS MERELY HOPING SOMETHING WILL GO YOUR WAY, BUT HARD WORK MORE RELIABLY ENSURES
In my mind, luck and karma aren’t realistic. Instead, I believe you get
what you work for; hard work pays off and beats talent. While sheer talent, happenstance, or luck may get you in the door, hard work and dedication sharpen your skills and propel you forward for the long haul. Many professional athletes say repeatedly that it’s more about what you do with your skill than just getting lucky and being in the right place at the right time. In fact, Kevin Durant, a professional basketball player currently playing for the Brooklyn Nets, once said, “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” In my eyes, talent will likely fail to work hard at one point or another. For example, Michael Jordan chose to shoot hoops and practice instead of going to his high school prom. Michael Phelps swam 80,000 meters a week. Kobe Bryant worked out and exercised
A POSITIVE OUTCOME.”
MAR 2023
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S CORP, C CO GOOD THINGS COME
‘IRISH I KNEW THAT SOONER!’ 6 Fun Facts About St. Patrick’s Day
Cashing in on the ‘Curre
To many people, a Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status seems like you are kicking the can down the road. When one of our clients is in CNC status, the debt isn’t eliminated, but rather, the IRS determines the client is unable to pay the debt at the current time, and they review the status every year or two to determine if anything has changed to enable them to pay the liability. Because the client is still responsible for the debt, they often wonder: “How is this a beneficial tactic for resolving tax debt?” Today, many people are just not making the same income they once did, and if they are, inflation is devouring that income. Although
Year after year, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with green shamrocks, leprechauns, pots of gold, and Lucky Charms, but did you know that St. Patrick was actually British? Even more surprising, St. Patrick isn’t even his real name!
clients own their debt, paying it back at this time would undoubtedly cause hardship. When they have proven hardship to the IRS, they put the client in CNC status and hold off on collection for a year or two. The IRS will not attempt to collect from them;
Get ready to celebrate the luck of the Irish while impressing others with some fun St. Patrick’s Day trivia.
even if they file a lien, they are not likely to seize or levy any of the client’s accounts or properties. But the debt doesn’t vanish into thin air; the IRS will revisit the client’s ability to pay back the amount due later.
The man’s British roots run deep. St. Patrick isn’t Irish — he was born in Britain around the end of the fourth century. Legend has it that at 16 years old, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery by Irish raiders. After six years, he was able to escape back to Britain and returned to Ireland much later as a Christian missionary. Ireland named him the country’s patron saint after he passed away. March 17 isn’t St. Patrick’s birthday. Many believe that we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on his birthday, but it’s actually the day he died in 461 A.D. That’s not his name. As mentioned earlier, St. Patrick is not his real name! When he became a bishop, Maewyn Succat changed his name to Patrick. He didn’t banish snakes. Legend has it that St. Patrick banished all of the snakes from Ireland. In fact, even some portraits depict him doing so. However, fossil records show that snakes were never present in Ireland around his lifetime. Corned beef and cabbage originated in America. On March 17, everyone loads up on corned beef and cabbage in celebration, but did you know that in Ireland, they ate ham and cabbage, and the corned beef tradition actually began in America? In the 19th century, Irish Americans bought leftover corned beef from ships returning from China. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade happened in America. Many believe that St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in Ireland, but in 1737, the first St. Patrick’s Day parades actually took place in Boston and New York City.
Irish Pancakes Inspired by TheKitchyKitchen.com
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ORP, OR LLC TO THOSE WHO WAIT ently Not Collectible’ Status
Why do resolution experts utilize this strategy? The answer is simple: The Collection Statute Expiration Date (or CSED) continues to run!
WIN OF THE MONTH To the Rescue!
When a client has found themselves in a situation where they don’t make the same income they used to and cannot afford to pay their liability, a two-year moratorium in collections could potentially lead to older debt dropping off. CSEDs are 10 years from the date they filed a tax return with the IRS.
Certain events can affect the CSED, but most of the time, 10 years is the amount of time the
IRS has to collect on the client’s debt. If a client has older debt likely to drop off, this becomes a brilliant strategy to help get the client into a better situation.
CASE SNAPSHOT Client: Business Owner From Alabama Type of IRS Issue: $3 Million Liability Tax Year in Question: Multiple IRS Claimed Liability: $2,977,615.15 Savings: $2,726,207.32
While we often frown upon procrastination, especially for filing your taxes, the CNC status is an incredibly beneficial strategy that could save our clients thousands of dollars!
INGREDIENTS
Our client, a general contractor, hadn’t filed his taxes with the IRS for many years. This didn’t go unnoticed by the IRS, and they filed substitute returns for him totaling nearly $3 million! He came to us frustrated and nervous about what his potential penalty could be, but we were ready to step in and help. Here at IRS Trouble Solvers, we successfully entered the client into a Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status and kept him there while the collection statutes continued to run. It should be noted that CNC status doesn’t always mean the liability will go away, but in this particular case, we were able to let the client know that $2.7 million had dropped off his tax liability! From there, we got our client into a reasonable Installment Agreement for the remaining balance, and this tremendous burden was lifted, saving him $2,726,207.32 in liabilities.
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2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp baking soda
• • •
1 large egg, beaten 1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
DIRECTIONS
1. In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside. 2. In a skillet, brown 1 tbsp of butter. 3. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten egg, buttermilk, and browned butter. 4. In a constant stream, add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients while stirring. Do not over beat! 5. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter, stir until the skillet is coated, and then add a few large dollops of batter (about 3 inches wide) to the pan. Do not overcrowd. 6. Cook 4–5 minutes a side, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with butter, jam, and syrup.
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IRS Trouble Solvers ™ ®
100 S. York Road, Suite 214 Elmhurst, IL 60126 www.IRSTroubleSolvers.com 630-832-6500 | 877-4-IRSLAW
1 Appreciating Hard Work Over Luck 2 6 St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts Currently Not Collectible 101 Irish Pancakes 3 Win of the Month 4 How to Avoid Being Overworked Remotely INSIDE THIS ISSUE
TIPS TO ENSURE YOU AREN’T OVERWORKED WORK FROM HOME?
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people who work out of a home office has tripled between 2019 and 2021. This massive increase is mainly due to the pandemic. Prior to COVID-19, it was believed that if workers were not in an office setting, they would slack off while working remotely. However, the opposite has proven to be true. In fact, some studies show that many employees working from home are overworked as their personal and professional lives start to blend. When their home is also their office, do they ever really transition out of work mode?
If you have adopted the remote work lifestyle, here are some tips to help ensure that you are not overdoing it. Stick to a start and stop time. In an office setting, employees are instructed when to show up and go home. Some even clock in and out, even for lunch breaks. If you are working from home, maintain regular working hours and avoid the urge to “check just one work thing” outside of your set hours. Log all overtime. On that note, if you do end up working after-hours or more than your slotted hours in the day, record it
and “flex” your hours on a different day to balance out the overtime hours. Even if you are just putting in an extra 15 minutes on a Wednesday evening, mark it down — this way, you know just how much extra work you put into a particular task or project. Be voca l. If and when you become overwhelmed, it’s important to say something. When employees are outside of a traditional office setting and faces and body language can’t be observed throughout the day, it can be difficult to know when someone has too much on their plate and is on the verge of burning out. To bridge this gap, be vocal about your workload!
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