Three o? them revenuers (Evette Davis, Nivia Hayes, and Avery Henline) this week gave the keynote at a luncheon attended by 30 members of the East Chapter of the Charlotte Chamber, including some CRE types (we snapped Michael Lopez of of Unique Voyages held in rapt attention, modeling the cheesecake). Being fed at the swanky Van Landingham Estate (no paperwork required for sweet tea) convinced them to cough up sage advice: Make sure your preparer signs the forms; avoid people who say they can get you a higher return than anyone else; and never, ever, sign a blank return. All that and blueberries on the cheesecake, too.

Property manager Phil Henderson of Henderson Properties asks one of the agents if there might be a penalty associated with incorrectly identifying or ?misclassifying? an employee in a tax form filing. ?There's not necessarily a penalty,? initially replied IRS agentNivia Hayes, who had explained what types of workers constitute 'employees? vs. those who qualify as independent contractors, to what extent their work behavior is controlled and by whom, and so on. ?But there might be a matter of paying back taxes and late returns,? Hayes continued. ?And there are penalties on late returns.?So, yes.