DEHKO: Bullied by the IRS
I own Schott’s Market, a grocery store in Fraser, Mich. In 1970, I left Iraq for the United States so I could practice my Christian faith free from persecution and truly live the American Dream. I started a family, became an American citizen, and, eight years after coming here, I bought my market. For 35 years, I’ve run Schott’s with the help of my children and created dozens of jobs in our community. To this day, I still work seven days a week to provide for my family.
The IRS has turned my American Dream into a nightmare. With my $35,000 unjustly taken, cash flow is now very tight. In the three decades I’ve run my shop, I have never had to pay a vendor late — until that week in January. My daughter and I are doing everything we can to make sure our workers get paid and Schott’s stays afloat. I have been forced to dip into my own personal accounts to preserve my business.
The government falsely accused me of violating federal banking laws by making frequent cash deposits of less than $10,000. It is illegal to make deposits of less than $10,000 in cash if you are doing it to avoid regulations that require the banks to report larger deposits to the IRS. It’s not against the law, though, to make smaller deposits when there is a legitimate, legal business reason. That is exactly what I have been doing.
My clerks routinely deposited cash earned at Schott’s at a bank right across the street. It’s never a good idea to risk letting too much money accumulate on-site. Like many other small businesses, my store’s insurance policy specifically limits coverage for cash losses to $10,000.
The government would have learned that if it asked me, but it didn’t.
Read more:
DEHKO: Bullied by the IRS - Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
