Spidell's Tax Season Tribune

Controlling those fight or flight responses

Sandy Weiner, J.D.
California Editor

For some of us, it's just not worth the fight anymore (especially after this tax season). So what's our option? Just ask 69-year-old Marilyn Hartman, and take to the skies.

Literally.

You see Marilyn is known as the "serial stowaway," an "inveterate sneaker on to planes," according to The Guardian.¹

On Tuesday, March 16, Marilyn was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for attempting to sneak onto a flight. Seem harsh?

This was clearly not her first trip. In fact she was on probation for an earlier stowaway attempt. Luckily for the airlines, she had been put on electronic monitoring from the earlier charge, so the local sheriff's deputies were able to trace her as she took off for O'Hare.

According to Wikipedia, she's "successfully" flown to Los Angeles, Jacksonville, Florida, London, and even Paris and has been arrested numerous times.²

Unfortunately, Marilyn is homeless and has a history of mental illness. But clearly, she's been clever enough to get past TSA … numerous times.

¹ www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/24/serial-stowaway-marilyn-hartman-mental-health-homeless
² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Hartman

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Jumping Off the 59th Street Bridge Song

Diane Fuller
Contributing Editor

Slow down, you move too fast
You've got to make tax season last
Forgiveness, UI, nonconformity
We're dazed, confused, and feelin' loopy

Hello "ARPA," what'cha knowin?
You're here to keep confusion goin'
With phaseouts, reductions, expansions, caps
Still confused and feelin' loopy

I got extensions to file and Zooms to keep
I'm worn out, frustrated, and ready to sleep
Let May 17 drop its deadline on me
Bring it on, I'm feelin' loopy
Ba da da da da da da feelin' loopy

And when tax season finally ends
It starts again as our psyche mends
The crazy of last year portends
Gotta get used to feelin' loopy
Ba da da da da da da feelin' loopy

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Anti-virus pioneer faces a plague of tax woes

Kathryn Zdan, EA
Editorial Director

John McAfee, whose name is synonymous with safety and protection as the developer of a well-known anti-virus software, has been indicted for money laundering tied to a cryptocurrency scheme that he perpetrated via Twitter.¹

McAfee's Twitter account had over a million followers, and he used that account to promote certain Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). However, he didn't disclose that the ICOs were paying him for the promotion. He'd also buy certain cryptocurrencies, promote them, and then when their value increased as a result, he'd sell. Between these two schemes, he and his team brought in around $15 million.

Muy mal-ware

McAfee was arrested in Spain in late 2020 on separate tax evasion charges; he believes income taxation is unconstitutional. From 2014 to 2018, he failed to report income promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements, and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary. He also concealed real property, a vehicle, a yacht, and other assets in other people's names to avoid detection by the IRS.²

¹ www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/03/05/john-mcafee-indicted-on-fraud-money-laundering-charges-in-pump-and-dump-crypto-scheme
² www.justice.gov/opa/pr/john-mcafee-indicted-tax-evasion

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A few fun facts about this week's writers:

Sandy Weiner, J.D., has been surviving the pandemic by climbing every nearby mountain, learning to play the cello, and binge watching old episodes of West Wing with her daughter.

Diane Fuller loves to read, cook, and go to Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho, as many times as possible during the year with her family including grandkids and dogs.

Kathryn Zdan, EA, spends her non-Spidell hours on photography and watching horror films (and then sleeping with the light on). She also enjoys hiking, biking, and walks with her ancient Jindo, Mango.

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