Hats off to IRS Revenue Officer Andrea Fabiani Orellana for winning the National Organization of Truth Tellers (NOTT) "Brave Hero" Award. Employed by the IRS since 2001 to enforce the collection of back taxes, Revenue Officer Orellana somehow found herself the target of a vicious smear.
The word on the street? That her alter-ego was eBay Power Seller "BlackTheRipper" who had a nice little side business selling a variety of consumer goods. And the bad news: "BlackTheRipper" didn't report a cent of the money she made by buying low and selling high.
If accusations were true, as a agent of the US government charged with enforcing the Tax Code, this would certainly spell doom for Orellana/BlackTheRipper's day job chasing down taxpayers.
"But this is all a lie, any reasonable person could surely see," relates NOTT award-committee chair Ellie Light.
"Sure, Orellana/BlackTheRipper and associated eBay user names had 1800 eBay sales between 2004 and 2005. But BlackTheRipper didn't need to report anything! She was only selling personal items at a loss and gifts she didn't want any longer. None of her transactions were taxable."
But the Tax Court wanted to know… If Orellana/BlackTheRipper was really selling unwanted personal items at essentially at an internet "garage sale," then why was she selling clothing and footwear of all different sizes?
Ms. Light points to the Tax Court's decision as the raison d'etre of BlackTheRipper's heroic truth-telling award:
She explained that she sold clothing and shoes of various sizes because she contracted plantar fasciitis and was unable to keep up her exercise routine. Lack of exercise caused her dress size to increase, and the use of orthotics caused her shoe size to increase.
Source:
Orellana v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2010- 51, U.S. Tax Court (Apr. 20, 2010)
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