May 29th 2014:WE WON!!!!
PLEASE Join us at Patrick's Cabaret (3010 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55406) at 8pm! for my "Audit Hell" event
Here is the Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1467570846811861/
April 30th 2014
It's almost May, it's been 1 year and five months in our attempt to untangle our MN Dept. of Rev "Audit-Hell."
PLEASE know, We are both very humbled, and extremely thankful for your amazing generosity and support of us through all of this.
Yesterday morning I had my first meeting with the MN DOR appeals people with my Lawyer present. It took a bit over an hour, and seemed to go well. I'm not holding my breath, but now we wait for them to contact my Lawyer with their decision based on this last interview with us. For now I've suspended our donations link, and will keep everyone updated here as to what we find out. ALSO:
We have just established a new fundraising/arts-community dialogue event to be held on May 30th at Patrick's Cabaret. It is almost booked with performance artists and musicians I've contacted. Details soon. IF the last interview (Yesterday morning,) results in an end to our fight, I will turn the event into a celebration, and arts-community dialogue for me to be able to answer questions as to the whole year and a half experience, and hopefully we can all talk about what we can do as a community to change the perception that we, as individual artists, and not deserving of this tax status. Somehow we need to change the perception that we're easy targets for this kind of Tax challenge. I have some ideas already. Please make time to attend this event. Again, details will follow here an on my FB page, and Twitter feed: (http://www.facebook.com/venud.demars / and Http://www.twitter.com/venus.)
I will continue to update here as things unfold, and will add the e-mails of all donors to my "Audit-Hell" e-list for more detailed updates...
IF you would like to be added to this e-list "Audit-Hell" update e-list, please message me via FB or Twitter..
As of 5/29/2014 we have raised $13,278.00 TOTAL!!..a bit over $12,000 now spent on our Legal fees.. only the closing costs remain!
I will keep these numbers updated, and any changes to the estimate vs. actual legal fee costs, as this case unfolds. Perhaps we're close to the end.
We also ask you all to please share this link with anyone you feel would be interested in our case. (Please feel free to use whatever forms of social media or personal contact you normally use. ps, Marianne Combs' latest MPR article is a good link to include with this outreach (below)
As of 6/28/2013, The MN DOR has dropped their case against Lynette.
For me, despite the initial 9 months of meetings and interviews with MN DOR, their final determination on 6/28/2013, remains. It states that I am NOT a working artist, using their reasoning which is outlined in the three press article links listed on this page.
In addition to the back taxes, interest, and penalties which they are now asking for, this determination also removes my tax status as a working artist.
One last issue: This case may be taken up by the IRS. The MN DOR will have most likely alerted the IRS to their 6/28/2013 determination. This could spark a new case against me, which would result in additional legal fees quite beyond what we're now fundraising for. At this point, the IRS has no issue against me independent of the State's case. But with the MN DOR driving this case and coming to this final determination, the IRS may 'jump on the band wagon' so to speak.
I will keep everyone posted here as to how everything unfolds.
Thank you so much -Venus
PS:
"10 BONES." The album I invested in over the years 2009-2011, (the 3-year audit period.) Resulting in investment loss during that 3-year investment but resulting in profit in 2012.
If you can't donate, PLEASE consider buying a song.
As an indy artist, this truly helps. I will continue to update this page as events unfold. It is an extremely slow process. IF you'd like to be added to my e-mail list for "Audit-Hell" updates, please send me a note at atph(at)prettyhorses.net, with the subject "Audit Hell updates - Add me."
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