A Cardinal in Tax Trouble

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t make it to this year’s Super Bowl. But Safety Antrel Rolle has made it into the news today.

Forbes is reporting that Rolle has sued the IRS in US Tax Court. Mr. Rolle was recently audited, and his audit was held in Sacramento rather than in the Los Angeles area (where his advisors were). He is claiming that the IRS violated his due process and didn’t follow the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Underlying the Tax Court case is an audit that apparently didn’t turn out so well for Mr. Rolle. Mr. Rolle is a resident of somewhere. His tax return said Fair Oaks (a suburb of Sacramento). Or maybe it was a light industrial park in Granada Hills (a section of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley). He gave substantial donations to churches. One church’s address was in a copy shop maildrop…”We’re not even open on Sundays,” a worker joked to Forbes. Another church’s address is a dermatologists office. Mail sent to the address of his business in Chandler, Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix) is returned as “undeliverable;” that address apparently doesn’t exist. Given the dollar amounts involved (charitable contributions in the millions, income discrepancies in the millions, etc.), I can see how the audit might have turned very unpleasant.

In any case, Mr. Rolle will, eventually, get his day in Tax Court. His attorney is annoyed that Forbes was able to read the complaint. As Forbes noted, Tax Court records are public documents. This case figures to be quite entertaining.

Hat Tip: Tax Prof Blog

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