Cedar Rapids Veteran Finally Gets Back $5,000 in Taxes

An 83-year old Navy veteran got a check for $5,000 this week for taxes he should've never had to pay in the first place.

James Robertson of Cedar Rapids worked in maintenance at Smulekoff's for almost 30 years, before its closing. The state of Iowa then presented him a bill for over $10,000 in taxes that were considered overdue. Contract workers collect and pay the tax. One problem. Robertson was never a contract worker. It was a simple, but costly, mistake that became a huge headache. A long battle was about to begin.

Smulekoff's had incorrectly classified Robertson as a contract worker, and that's where the trouble stemmed from. Robertson went to the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR) but they wouldn't investigate whether or not his job had been incorrectly classified. After a multitude of calls from the IDR, he finally paid a settlement of $5,000 last June.

Five months ago, Robertson got a letter from the Internal Revenue Service that admitted the mistake, and the Iowa Attorney General's office helped negotiate the return of $5,000 to him this week. The Des Moines Register obtained a copy of the settlement that shows the former owner of Smulekoff's, Ann Lipsky, agreed to the payment. It took nearly three years, but James Robertson has his money back.

Robertson told the Des Moines Register, "You have no idea how good I feel right now. I've spent many countless nights worrying about this. The process is just so involved that it beats you down."

A wrong was made right, and that's a very good thing. For that, we congratulate everyone involved.

[via Des Moines Register]