First, this is not a "woe is me" tale. My life is pretty good. If I do less is startups, I've done pretty well. We're very far from socialism. This one was

First, this is not a "woe is me" tale. My life is pretty good. If I do less is startups, I've done pretty well. We're very far from socialism. This one was actually pretty simple. An acquirer filed a 1099 in the incorrect category. We submitted an amended one, but the IRS wants to tax at teh higher rate. And, with giants penalties and interest. You basically have to a) pay the amount they incorrectly claim you owe plus the interest and penalties up-front. Then beg for your money back and b) pay lawyers to try to get them to actually respond. Once the IRS has your money, it's pretty much impossible to contact them and argue. The actual form we filled out, the 843, is pretty simple. [As an unrelated point, if you're in CA, the current cap gains rate is 15% federal + 9.3 CA income + 1% CA mental health=25.3%. If if goes to the proposed 20% federal + 3.8% medicare + 9.3% CA income + 1% CA mental mental health=34.1%, that's a 34% increase on the taxes on startups in the course of a year... Granted, I care more about the hassle, but it's made me think.]