Quote:
Originally Posted by Mossberg
That's discouraging. I know that many poker players (myself included) have very complicated transaction histories (to/from various poker sites, skrill, neteller, etc). I would find it very challenging to provide all of those records going back several years. Were you not able to use Pokertracker/HEM records to support your claims?
On the bright side, it seems positive that they are only disputing the amount in question rather than trying to argue that your winnings are taxable.
In my case they seemed to put the burden of proof completely on me. As in, they were coming from the position that I needed to prove beyond any doubt that the money I claimed to have come from poker did indeed come from poker.
I think this is silly. I'm not sure what it will be like on appeal or if/when it goes to court. I would think/hope that this is the mentality of those on the front line of auditing rather than something I'll have to fight my whole way through.
At one point I provided them a complete transaction audit from PokerStars which for their purposes would be much better than HEM data. I also summarized it to show down to the cent exactly where all of my money came from in 2010 and 2011. They rejected it with something like "we didn't understand this", and just used their logic of "well, he hasn't proved his case, so we say no".
It's like they don't need to actually make a logical argument, they just do whatever they want. I'm still a bit bitter about how this has all gone down.
I feel fortunate that my 2010 was a bit simpler than my 2011 leading to a "fast" payout (14 months). Maybe some auditors won't be as ridiculous as mine was.
And yes, I also agree that it's a positive sign that they agree that my poker playing wasn't taxable.
My Stars name in 2010/2011 is/was Klairic.